The Corner of 11th and B
by Musetta Lulu
Summary: PostRENT a year after the end. Roger's uninspired and suspicious, Maureen and Joanne are on the outs yet again, and Benny has an interesting offer. Rated for language, drug references and nongraphic heavy sexual content. Dropped for now.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N from me: Hey, I'm known as EponineGiry or Eppy, and I run a lovely little RP site that's had a RENT RP going on for awhile now. Because my RPers are so wonderful, I decided to turn the fruit of their labor into a chapterfic. There's no one character with a PoV but it shifts back and forth for some minor confusion but lots of enjoyment (it gets less confusing later on). Come check us out if you want to see the story in its full glory.  
Disclaimer: I don'town emotion -- I rent. I also don't own RENT or any of its characters, and nor do any of the RPers who play them. They are the creations of Jonathan Larson. I also don't own much of this content; I've shuffled it around with permission and am posting it on my account. Mark Cohen and Goddess of Ivy here are Mark and Maureen; Roger, Mimi and Collins are also not mine. (I did write Alexi's voicemail later!)  
Enjoy and please review; we'd all love for you to talk about us. Feel free to come check us out, and I'll be adding more as events warrant. What's been written already will be put up soon. The first chapter is quite long but others might be shorter.**

**The Corner of 11th and B**

Maureen stalked down Avenue B, a suitcase in her hand and fury evident in her face. The nerve of that woman! Selfish, she had called her before telling her that she thought they should spend some time apart. Maureen Johnson had been dumped and she was not happy about it. She finally arrived at her destination and stomped up the few flights of stairs to the loft. Maureen put her suitcase down next to her and began to pound incessantly on the door.

Roger was sitting up in the loft. The apartment he shared with his roommate, Mark, in the building on the corner of 11th and B.  
A mixture of notes and chords filled the loft as he tried to tune his Fender guitar yet again. "Damn thing _never_ tunes..." he muttered to himself.  
It had been two years since Mimi had first stepped foot in the loft asking him to light a candle for her and a year after nearly losing her. Yet, he hadn't had an inspiration for a song since. He jumped slightly at the pounding. "The door..." he muttered with a frustrated sigh as the person on the other side continued incessantly.  
"I'm coming!" he shouted, carefully setting down his guitar before walking over.  
Upon opening it, he was surprised to see Maureen, though maybe he really shouldn't have been. She pushed past him into the loft. "Is Marky here?"

"Uh...no," Roger replied, moving quickly out of her way.  
"He's gone out to do some more filming...Don't think he came back yet. I would of seen him."  
It was then Roger's eyes landed on Maureen's suitcase. Ah, so she and Joanne had had a fight again.

Maureen sighed dramatically, flinging herself onto the worn couch. "He's always filming when I need him!"

Roger raised a brow at that.  
"You let him go two years ago, Maureen. He's a free man now."  
_Now if only Mark came to that conclusion,_ Roger thought shutting the door as he shook his head slightly.

Maureen pouted. "Well, I guess I'll just have to wait here with you until he comes back."

"Fine. Suit yourself," Roger replied, picking up his guitar again.  
After tuning a moment more, Roger ran through the chorus of Musetta'sWaltz to test it. Cringing slightly at a somewhat sour note, he went back to tuning.

Benny started up the stairs to his former friends' loft. His walk had an arrogance all its own, and his head was held high. And why wouldn't it be? He had some good news... and hey, maybe this time one of his many crazy ex-roommates wouldn't protest his idea. As he climbed the last few steps, his cell phone rang. He looked at the number on the screen and it was that of his wife, Allison. He looked at it for a few seconds and then put it back in his pocket. Allison could wait. She only complained anyway, and Benny wasn't in the mood. He finally made it to the door outside of Roger and Mark's loft, and turned the knob to open the it. It WAS his building, after all.  
Roger looked up from his guitar as the door opened, half expecting either Mimi or Mark. One thing was for certain, he _wasn't_ expecting Benny. "Don't you know how to knock?" were the first words out of Roger's mouth. "You may own the place and may be an _ex_-roommate, but that doesn't mean you have a right to just barge in!" Roger was still miffed about the fact that Benny had messed around with Mimi.  
"Hey, hey, hey," Benny said as he walked in. He saw Roger sitting, trying to play that damn song he can never get right and Maureen pouting on the couch, a suitcase at her feet. The two didn't look too pleased to see him, but he walked in anyway. "Man, do I have good news for you two. Well, maybe not you." Benny said eyeing up Maureen before pulling a chair from beside the kitchen table, turning it around backwards and taking a seat. He pointed at Roger. "Cyberland is being born my man. I found an even better spot than that crappy lot over there. Prime position, really. It's going to be uptown, up by all the other studios. Except for the fact that this one'll be better than anything they got around there now."  
Benny pulled a folded up piece of paper from the pocket inside his jacket and held it out to Roger. "Take a look man. This could be your future."  
Roger raised a brow and glanced at the paper in Benny's hand. However, he didn't take it. 'My future?' he thought sarcastically rolling his eyes. Right...  
Benny figured maybe the nice approach would win him some points. Truth is, he hated that his friends didn't like him solely because he married someone rich. I guess it didn't matter that he had screwed around with an S&M dancer who also happens to be Roger's current girlfriend... or they just chose to ignore that fact. Benny was doing what he could to try to get back in the good graces of his real friends. Hanging out with the Grays wasn't exactly Benny's cup of tea anymore... He looked at Roger, still holding out the paper stubbornly.  
"Look at yourself Roger," Benny said in a semi-compassionate tone. "You think just sitting around in your apartment all day is going to get you somewhere in life? Because it's not. You can't depend on living in a place where you don't have to pay rent all your life. What happens if someone buys the building from me? Then you'll be SCREWED. You need some back-up, man. And this is just the thing. You got a couplea songs... one of 'em may be the 'big one.'" Benny looked at Roger firmly. He always got his way... it was always just a matter of how long it took for it to happen. Once Roger realized that Benny was right, Benny would have one of his first projects to work on.

Maureen rolled her eyes. While she and Roger rarely ever saw eye to eye, she much preferred his company over the arrogant landlord. "Why don't you just back off, Benny? Roger's doing find without your help. We all are."

Benny glanced over at her. "Last time I checked, you weren't in this conversation, so how about you stay over there."

Benny wasn't a big Maureen fan... after the protest and the fact that she cheated on Mark, a lot, while they were good friends, so she didn't have too many positive points in Benny's book.

Maureen narrowed her eyes at Benny. "Well maybe I could if you weren't so goddamn loud all the time." Even so, she retreated towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

A soft knock was heard, and the door of the loft opened a crack. Mimi poked her head inside. "It sounds like the party's in here..." she said with a smirk, but trailed off when her eyes landed on Benny.  
"Then again, maybe not," she added, her tone colder. She stepped inside and closed the door, folding her arms. She looked torn for a moment, but quickly crossed the room and settled herself on Roger's lap, glancing at Benny defiantly. The landlord's eyes followed her; he hated it when she acted noble. Roger leaned forward and kissed her neck.

Behind her, a thrilled Mark burst into the room, zooming his camera around the room. "Rog, some guy just pissed all over Benny's c..."  
Instantly seeing the large gathering in the loft. including a very disheveled Maureen and irritated Benny, Mark stopped talking and brought his camera up to the group where he could feel Mimi's anger through the lens.  
"Oh. Sorry...awkward."

"WHAT!" shouted Benny. He ran over to the window to see someone they recognized... one of the tent city inhabitants from the previous protest. Roger choked back a laugh.  
"Aw, man! C'mon now! You can get back at me better than pissin' all over my ride!"  
The guy down by his car only laughed as he flipped Benny the bird and walked off with a happy stride.  
"Goddamnit..." Benny mumbled under his breath. He turned around to notice Mark smirking behind his camera, then looked down at his hand and the paper he held in it. "Mark, maybe you'd have some interest in this. Cyberland is a reality... it's being built as we speak. I want you and Roger to be a part of it, but seeing as how your roommate is being just short of difficult, maybe you could help to persuade him because I think it's obvious that you're the smarter of the two of you and you're not one to pass up a good offer." Roger, still laughing at Benny's reaction to the defacement of his car, changed his expression to a glare. Again, Benny held out the paper in his hand, this time toward Mark, who took the paper and read it over. It _was_ a great opportunity. They had always talked about it but he had never thought it would actually happen, for all Benny's talk.

"If we do you one small favor right?" He gave the paper back to Benny. "What makes you think you can just come in here and offer us...this and we would immediately forget what an ass you've been? Forget it."

Now Joanne came into the loft. She looked aggravated and upset at the same time.  
"Well, it looks like the party's here." she said, more sharply than Mimi. Her eyes softened a little when she looked at Maureen. She then looked at the paper in Benny's hand. "What are you doing? Evicting them?" she asked, arms crossed. While she was still pissed off at her SELFISH (ex) girlfriend, she could at least keep her friendship with the boys (and Mimi) by being their legal consent.

Benny rolled his eyes and let his hands drop to his sides. "No. I'm not evicting them. Look, I don't want anything in return; I just want to see something get done. I'm spending all this money on this studio and I want to start it off with a bang. I want to get some artists in there who know what they're doing, and you two know what you're doing and are GOOD at what you're doing. I know I've been an asshole before, and no, I don't expect everything to be forgotten, that's not what I'm asking. I don't want anything in return. For once in my life, I've come to a realization that you guys are the only lifelines I have to my past, my _good_ past. And I'm sorry for what I did. But now I want to try to make it up to you. This is my favor to YOU."

"Let me see it," Joanne said, reaching for the note. She scanned over it with her eyes.

"You're paying them THAT much? Where are you going to get that kind of money?"

"By doing what I've been doing since I got married: take the money from Allison's parents and pay 'em back when I can. It's in midtown so it's not going to be cheap."

"I have an office over there," came the reply. Joanne read through the document again, this time looking for hidden ropes. She didn't find any.  
"Are you planing on throwing in free rent too?" she asked, still holding on to the note.

"There's no place to stay at Cyberland." Benny walked over and flipped a couple pages where a floorplan was drawn.  
"That's how it's gonna be. The studio, production and editing room, lounge. It's just a floor of a building," Benny said, pointing to different parts of the drawing before looking up and holding out his arm to the others in the room. "If they're staying here, then yes, it's free rent. But they can't move midtown 'cause there's no place to stay unless they buy their own place."

"Hm," Joanne said, watching him. She thought it was actually a good idea. "You'll have to get something signed," she said. "And witnessed."

"For them to stay free? Fine. You write up a contract and I'll sign it if you deem it necessary. I'm just trying to help get some money in their pockets right now."

"Free rent is always good. I'll tell you what, I'll write up a contract, pass it by the guys, and if they like it, I'll let you know what we come up with." She looked at Mark and Roger. "Boys, we'll have to talk," she said simply. She then looked at Maureen. "Honey-bear, what a surprise to find you here," she said it as if she was genuinely shocked, even though she knew this is where she would run to. Maureen always seemed to have a soft-spot for Mark. If anything ever went wrong, he was where she went to. Like when Joanne needed to fix the equipment. She could have done it, but Maureen had to call Mark, and send him over to do it.

Maureen crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl on her face. Joanne knew where she was most likely to go. Why had she followed? The small glimmer of hope that Joanne may have reconsidered her early words was quickly squashed by Maureen's pride and anger. "Pookie, I didn't know you'd be coming here. If I did, I would have left. But we all know how selfish I am," she said coldly.

"Just send me along a copy of what you figure out.," Benny said quickly. He looked at Roger and Mark. "And think about it. Seriously." He looked at everyone in the room, leaving a slight lingering glare on Mimi before walking out the door.  
He went down the stairs and outside to his car, which reaked of urine. He sighed with an aggrivated manner before getting in. He sat in the car for a few moments, considering everything that had just happened. Not that he regretted saying anything and not that anything he had said was a lie, but he just didn't know what to make of his old friends anymore. He felt like a dick. He had been a dick, but things were changing. He was bored with his "rich" life and taking advantage of those who couldn't defend themselves. So he hoped that everything would turn out like he had planned. Benny started the car and drove in the direction of a carwash.

"Thanks Joanne." Mark gave her a weak smile. He wanted to like her. Really, he did. But how could somebody like the woman that stole the girl they love...er, loved. Mark ran his hand through his hair and looked back down at his camera that on this rare occasion was off. "What do you think, Rog?"

Roger looked back to Joanne. He still didn't trust Benny and all of them in the loft knew he had a perfectly good reason. Mark, Mimi, (and even Maureen) had they're reasons for not trusting him as well so Roger felt there was no need to explain his reasons. "I still don't know about this Joanne. I mean, sure, it seems like a great opportunity and it _is_ what we've dreamed about but..." He faded off.

"It's okay, Roger." She said. "I understand. That's why I want you to help me write up the contract. This way it's on your terms, not his."

Roger gave a nod. "It's good to have someone on our side who knows the legal stuff. "I'm actually interested in the opportunity." Roger would never admit that to Benny personally of course. "And if Mark's interested I say we take it."

Mark had put his camera away. "Me? If I'm interested?" he asked, pointing to himself. "I'm all gung-ho, you know, depending on what we write up and stuff."  
Joanne nodded. "This sound great," she said. "Just let me know when you boys want to write up the contract." She looked again to Maureen, who was trying to hide the fact she was upset that she wasn't the center of attention, and stayed silent.

Maureen tried to look bored, examining her carefully painted nails for any chips. She didn't need to be the center of attention. Really, she didn't. She was perfectly capable of being on the sidelines...Which was why it was such a surprise to her when she found her mouth opening and sound coming out. "Why are you guys even bothering? You know that Benny will find some way to screw you over. He always does."

"He was a nice guy 800 years ago, believe it or not," Mark said. "When we were in college...hell, he wasn't THAT bad when he was living there. Money got to the head." He shrugged.

Joanne looked at Mimi. "What do you think, honey?"

Mimi's gaze remained on Joanne for a moment after she spoke. "I just don't trust him." She said, every bit of wariness there in her voice for everyone to hear. Her eyes dropped to her lap. "Old habits are hard to break, I guess." She raised her eyes to find Mark, squeezing Roger's hand as she continued. "But if it really is a great opportunity... don't listen to me. Just make sure someone is watching out for you. Like Joanne." Mark shot her a smile.

"This really is a great opportunity," Joanne said to Mark and Roger. "You boys outline a contract."

Maureen was floored. She couldn't believe they were actually considering this! It was Benny for Christ's sake! Was she the only one who remembered how slimey and conniving Benny could be when he wanted something? Not that it made her hate him any less, but one did have to admire his ability to find a loophole in anything. "Do what you guys want, but I reserve all 'I told you so' rights when Benny inevitably messes everything up."

Joanne shot her a glance. "He may, but that doesn't mean they have to be screwed," She said somewhat tartly. "This is the first time that Benny can be the puppet on the string, not the other way around." She turned her attention back to us. "Let me know what you decide."

Mark was watching everything unfold. A chance to film, and actually get PAID for it! He looked at Roger and shrugged again.

Roger was swirling the whole idea around in his head. Like Mark, he'd finally be able to do what he liked to do and get paid for it. After all, Benny had been right. Roger had a few songs from when he had been in his band. There might just be a hit there somewhere, who knew?

A slight sparkle shown in his eyes. If one didn't completely know Roger, they would miss it entirly because he wasn't one to show emotion too often.  
He looked to Mark and then to Mimi. Mark noticed, but he didn't draw attention to it. The look on his face told him that Roger didn't want anyone to know he was seriously considering this, at least not yet.  
"So...any ideas for food tonight?" Mark said, changing the subject. He noticed Joanne and Maureen staring at each other. Women.

Maureen shot Joanne a dirty look before moving towards Mark. "Well, Marky, we could always go to the Life..." She lightly brushed her hand over Mark's shoulder, looking right at Joanne.

Mark pretended she hadn't touched him. "Sounds good, unless anyone has any objections?"

Joanne watched Maureen carefully. She had no doubt that the woman would come back shortly. This was just to aggravate her and damn it, it's working. Joanne didn't let this show, however. "No, the Life sounds great."

Roger gave a nod. "If it's the Life, I'm game" he agreed as he looked back to Mimi.

"Well, I'm going to be heading down now..." Mark said. No one doing anything was driving him nuts. "You guys can come with if you want. Or not," he added as an afterthought.

Joanne gave Maureen one last look. "I'll go with you," She said. In one sense she needed to get out of the loft and get some fresh air. In the other sense, she was baiting Maureen: her ex and---well, both her ex's at the moment were going out. Would she take the bait and come with?

Maureen watched as Joanne and Mark walked towards the loft door. "Wait! I'm coming to. I'm starving!" Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration but Joanne and Mark had been awfully chummy lately and Maureen did not like that at all. At least if she came along, she could attempt to keep their attention on HER.

"Great," Mark said. He held the door open for both of them. After Joanne and Maureen had walked in, he poked his head back in the front room toward Roger. "You two can come with, if you want." he said. Who knows if they would come?

Maureen flounced towards the door, flipping her curly brown hair over her shoulder as she brushed past Joanne. Joanne smiled slightly to herself as the three of them began to walk toward the Life Cafe.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter will be easier to read; there are fewer POVs flying around. Here we are; enjoy.**

**Chapter Two**

"Maybe that cute waitress we had last time will be there again." This came from Maureen, as the three walked toward the Life Café.

"Cute waitress?" Mark said. He new there was a tension between his two companions, but he was going to pretend it wasn't there. "Every time I go there we end up sitting with Steve--that gay waiter who's in love with me."

Joanne laughed. "Yes, well, at least he's in love with someone," she said curtly.

Maureen scoffed. "I don't believe in love. There's only people you want to sleep with and people you really want to sleep with." But she wondered if she really had meant that. She had only said it to get a rise out of Joanne but if she really believed it on some level...well, it would explain a lot of things.

Mark actually laughed. "Oh no, sweetie. I believe in love." Because I loved you, he thought but did not say.

Joanne looked taken-aback. "You want to talk about sleeping with whoever you want to, _pookie_?" She asked bitterly. "You, who have cheated on everyone you've ever dated with half the city of New York---"

"Ladies!" Mark said. He was not getting in the middle of this. "Please, easy. Kill each other later, for the moment let's eat. Truce?" he said to the both of them.

Benny looked up from his table as he saw a group of people approaching the Life through the big windows in front of him. _Please don't be..._ Benny began to think, but then stopped because honestly, who else would it be? He wasn't in the mood to hear Maureen's mouth anymore, and he had business to take care of. He wondered why he decided to come to the Life to try to take care of business when he had known that they would be coming... because that's ALL they ever do.

Joanne just watched Maureen, who had changed her train of thought, disturbed. It's then that she saw Benny, who had put his hand up along the side of his face in an attempt for them not to notice him.  
"BENNY! Would you care to join us?" called Joanne. Anything to get in between the inevitable fight she and Maureen would have._ Shit_, Benny thought, slowly taking his hand down and looking at Joanne.  
"Truce first!" Mark tried. He was hesitant to have Benny join them, but that was something out of a movie.

"I don't want to intrude or anything. Actually, I was just leaving," Benny said, as a waitress came over and set a plate with a chicken sandwich and French fries on it down in front of him.

"Aw, c'mon! You can join us over here! Unless you're too GOOD for us." Mark said, knowing it would get Benny's attention.

Benny cringed a little. He sighed and picked up his plate as he got up. "Alright, where we sitting?"

"At this table." Mark said, trying not to sound sarcastic.

"You can sit here," Joanne said, moving so she was sitting next to Mark, leaving the seat next to Maureen open.

Benny eyed the seat, then Maureen, then the seat again. He reluctantly sat down next to her, giving her a mock smile before picking at his fries.

"So...we were saying?" Mark said, by way of trying to pick the conversation up again. "Oh yeah! Truce! C'mon you two, we have a guest!" He said, indicating to Benny.

Joanne, again getting that set-in-stone attitude, looked at Maureen, letting her make the first move.

Maureen pouted, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning back in her chair. She glanced around the table, giving Benny an icy glare when her eyes reached him. "Fine, truce. Because we have a _guest_." Her tone had a hint of sarcasm in it, but she did mean what she said. She would stop...for now. "So Benny, why are you slumming it with us tonight?" While her tone was a little harsh, Maureen was extremely curious about why Benny would choose to eat at the Life when he could certainly afford to eat at just about every restaurant on the island of Manhattan.

Benny pushed his fries around on his plate as the two girls were trying to figure out the status of their relationship for the night. He then let his eyes travel to the side to barely look at Maureen after she addressed him. He sighed a little.

"Is it so hard to believe that I'm sick of midtown and the big apartment and the white furniture? Allison seems fine and happy with everything... then again, that's how she was brought up, but I don't know. I'm sick of it. It probably won't make you guys think any better of me, hell it might even make you think a lot less, but I think once I get Cyberland off the ground and make Mr. Gray's money back, I'm thinking about getting a divorce. This... this just isn't working for me anymore," Benny said, not really believing that those words had come out of his mouth.  
Truth was, he had been evaluating his life lately and realized how much of a jerk he really had been being. He'd gotten so caught up in the cell phones and fancy clothes that he forgot his roots. He'd thought back to when he'd been rooming with Mark at Brown and how much fun they'd had, and then it seemed like so shortly after he had moved in with them in the loft, that he was out again and owning the building because someone else let him have it. He had always sworn to himself that if he was going to make any money, he'd do it on his own, and here he was just letting Mr. Grey walk all over him. It almost made him sick.

Mark was taken-aback by Benny's sudden honesty. Benny hadn't been "chummy" with him since way back in Brown. What brought this on?

"What? What's with the sudden change of heart?" he asked. His fingers itched to pick up his camera and he had to consciously keep it lowered. Here was drama! That stuff makes for great film. Then again, the drama between the two girls was wonderful for film, but he had enough shots of them--he needs something new, something---fresh.

"I know your humble roots begin with the rest of us, but what does that have to do with Alison?"

"She's just so... fake man, ya know? She's just used to living on Daddy's money. She doesn't do anything except complain to me about how someone messed up her nails at some salon or about how one of her friends husbands is being an asshole. She's not real. She's...a product of society. It was cool for a while, but it's getting on my last nerve, man," Benny seemed to be getting a little angrier than annoyed as he went on. "It's all just a bunch of bullshit. And I can't stand what I've let myself become. You know how I was back in Brown. I was self-sufficient, made my own money. Now here I am taking some other dude's money and it suddenly became okay? It was just too damn good to be true, and now the reality's hitting me."

Mimi came in after a few minutes outside with Roger, making up for what they _didn't_ get a chance to do at the loft. When she walked in and saw Benny sitting at the table, her face fell and her guard went up. She wasn't a big fan of being around Benny, no matter how "nice" he was trying to be.  
"Um, can we leave?" she asked Roger sarcastically, eyeing Benny. "Why the hell is he sitting with us? And what's his deal lately. Whenever he acts this nice, he always turns right around and does something stupid."  
"Hey, oh, 'ey!" Mark said, trying to get attention. "I just managed to keep these two from killing each other, lets not start another fight. Right now it's truce time. Let's all play nice for right now, while we're eating, and then we can kill each other, okay?" he said. He was really tired of every-other-day being a new day to fight and moan about how miserable everyone else is and how so-and-so did such-and-such. Enough was enough.  
Mimi sighed as she slowly walked over to the table and stood behind Benny.  
"Benny, I'm surprised. A bright and charming boy like you hangs out with these _slackers_, who don't adhere to deals!" Mimi said mockingly before pulling up a chair and waiting for Roger to sit down so she could take a seat on his lap.  
Benny rolled his eyes and followed Mimi with his gaze. "You're a riot, Mimi. Really," he said sarcastically.

"While we're all not the best of friends, right now is the time to at least act like some-what civilized people." Mark sighed and held his camera a little more tightly, ready to flip it up on the first sign of needing to. "Anyway, Mims and Roger, I'm glad you guys finally decided to come out."

"Had I known what company we'd be having, I would've stayed in the loft," Mimi mumbled under her breath while glaring at Benny before shooting Mark a smile. "Yeah, we thought we might as well. We haven't come out in a while with you guys."

Benny sunk into his seat.  
_Just leave Benny. Get up and leave,_ he thought. But he decided against it. He figured he might as well let the "old Benny" make a home once again.

_Touché Mimi_, Roger thought holding back a smirk. He made his way over and pulled out a chair, sitting down so that Mimi could sit on his lap if she wished.  
He looked to Benny as well. Roger had only gotten to know Benny through Mark. He still didn't understand him most times.

"So, has anyone heard from Collins? I can't wait for him to get back from Santa Fe, things haven't been the same around here without him." Maureen spoke up, mostly to dispel the almost awkward silence that had fallen on the table but also because she really did miss Collins. He had been the first member of their group she had met and it had been weird not having him around while he went on his sabbatical to Santa Fe. For Angel, he had told them. He just hadn't known when he'd be coming back.

"I miss Collins, too," Mimi said as she made herself comfortable on Roger's lap. "We have to let him be, though. He'll come back when he's ready. Maybe his 'Actual Reality' finally went over with somebody down there."

Benny silently nodded, feeling it would be best to simply keep his mouth shut on this topic. It wasn't that he didn't like Collins, or Angel for that matter; he just didn't see the point for Collins' excursion to Santa Fe. It didn't solve much in his eyes. Then again, Benny had never shared the love that Collins and Angel did and never had to lose someone that close to him, save April, but they weren't nearly close enough for it to have affected him on a life-shattering level.

"He called and left a message on our machine a few days ago, actually," Mark said, glad that they were all back on somewhat of a common ground. "He said he's doing good. He still doesn't know when (or if) he's coming back." Mark turned to look at Roger. "Do you remember a year or so ago? On Christmas Eve? When we were all talking about opening a restaurant in Santa Fe? Well, Collins said he was looking at some prospect future homes for that dream."  
_And more luck to him,_ Mark thought. _He deserves it._

"He's going to _leave_ us?" Mimi asked with a pout, a slight edge of selfishness in her voice. "He can't leave us. Maybe we should all move down to Santa Fe. It'd probably be better than here," she added, almost bitterly.

The words hit Maureen like a slap in the face. Collins not coming back? She had never thought of the possibility. In fact, she had never thought about any of them ever leaving New York for good- even when Roger had taken off to Santa Fe after Angel's funeral. Their ragtag family was still trying to get over the loss of Angel, she wasn't sure if they could take losing Collins too- even if he was just moving away. Silently she agreed with Mimi. He couldn't just leave them. He wouldn't...right? "Do you think he's really going to stay in Santa Fe?" Her voice was quiet, for Maureen anyway, and betrayed more real emotion than she would have liked.

"I don't know," Mark admitted. "He said he MIGHT, but personally I don't think he will. And even IF he does, he'll come back and visit us...he has too." Mark added the last as a way to complete his train of thought. Suddenly, he smiled.  
"Hey everyone! Brighten up, will ya? It's not like he--" He was going to say "died," but figured that was a bad choice of words, so he changed them. "He's gone forever or anything. He'll still come up and visit us and do crazy stuff with us and everything. Collins is still Collins. I say let the guy have a break---it's been hard up here for him, you know? I think he could use a vacation." _A nice_ LONG _vacation_.

"Yeah, I guess so," Mimi said, her voice barely above a whisper. To her, Collins hadn't only been a friend, but her last connection to one of her BEST friends. They'd always share the dreams they'd had about Angel, seeing as how she was constantly visiting them both. Mimi sighed a little and rested her head on Roger's shoulder as floods of memories came rushing back. She hated having to face up to reality sometimes...  
After a few moments, she stood up.  
"I'm going to run to the bathroom," she said before quickly walking away.  
Roger had fallen silent as the group started talking about Collins. He was glad their friend had gone down to Santa Fe to try and make his dream come true. However, he too wished deep down that it wouldn't be forever. He went to say something as Mimi got up but she was halfway there already. A worried look crossed his face. "Excuse me," he told the others before he too stood up.

Benny watched after Mimi, almost worried, and wondering why she made such a quick departure. But he let the thoughts leave his mind. He didn't care about her and her addictions or her conditions anymore anyway.

_"Me and my STUPID big mouth!"_ Mark thought bitterly. _"I just had to say something, didn't I?"_ He looked from Maureen to Joanne to Benny, realizing that they were right back where they started.  
"So..." He said, trying to think of something, ANYTHING, that would bring the topic back onto lighter ground. The talk of Collins didn't bother him, but it did change the mood pretty quickly. He absentmindedly started at the table. "Hey, I think this is the same table we jumped on!" He said. "Remember that? That was what, a year ago? Two?" A mischeivious grin crossed his face. "Do you think we'd get kicked out for good if we jumped on the tables again?" He asked, but then he looked at Benny and remembered WHY they had jumped on tables in the first place. It had been because of Benny--and Maureen's performance. And Bohemia. LA VIE BOHEME!

Benny looked at Mark and laughed ever so lightly.  
"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

_Time to bury the hatchet, Benny. What's the worst that can happen? Getting banned from the Life isn't exactly earth shattering,_ Benny thought as he stood up. He climbed on top of his chair and stepped up onto the table.  
"Viva la vie boheme," he said, giving the other three a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Maureen grinned as Benny jumped onto the table. Mark was right, it was the same table they had been at after her protest. Her smile grew wider as she remembered that night, and she quickly jumped up onto the table next to Benny. "Another round of wine and beer over here, waiter!"

Mark had managed to bring things on lighter ground! He jumped up on the table, and cleared his throat, getting a few strange glances from the people in the tables around them. Ever the narrator, he began.  
"Good people of New York!" he said loudly and clearly, attracting even more attention. Truth be told, he had no idea what we was going to say, but he just started making it up.  
"Today is a GLORIOUS day in this fine city! It is a day of rejoicing, a day of partying, a day of breaking-up and making-up, a day of love and loss, and happiness and sadness. Today is 'No day but today!' Today, I ask you people, if you will stand with us! Stand with us for unity and diversity---to color and colorless---to tall and short and skinny and not skinny! To everything and to nothing! People, who will stand with us!  
"And where is our waiter!" he added as an afterthought.

Maureen giggled, "Yeah, we need our drinks, damn it!" Maureen looked around the room and other than the fact that they were being stared at by every patron in the restaurant, nothing else was happening. "Oh c'mon people! One of you has to have something you want to celebrate! Stand with us!"

Benny laughed, loudly and happily, something he needed to get out because it surely hadn't happened in a long time. This is what he'd missed! Random fun times with his true friends. He looked at the people sitting in their seats.  
"You know, I was once like all of you. I thought that I was too good to make myself stand on a table. I thought that I couldn't have fun, couldn't break away from the seriousness that this city brings upon us. But today, I have given all of that up. Today is a day of CHANGE! Today is a revolution! Today," he said, hopping down off the table and walking to random people, pulling them to their feet, "today is the day when all inhibitions are forgotten! Today is the day we just have FUN!"  
He hopped behind the bar, seeing as how no one else was around to serve them... and no one could really tell him and his wallet full of his father-in-law's money otherwise.  
"Drinks are on me tonight!"  
He started making random drinks and sitting them out on the counter as people slowly began to liven up... or at least entertain the notion of having free drinks all night long.

"Well damn," Mark said, watching Benny. He (for the hell of it--and old time's sake) took Maureen's hand in his own. "Who'd have thought that Benny would be trying just as hard as we were to get people to party?" he said. He looked around as some teenage-girl, bright red in the face from embarrassment stood on her chair.  
"YES!" Mark did this running leap of the table and landed cleanly on theirs (just missing someone's dinner). "C'mon honey, c'mon," he said offering her his hand. She took it and with faltering steps, stepped up on the table.  
"What's your name, sweetheart?" Mark asked. She mumbled something and turned redder in the face. "What was that?"  
"Rachel," She said again. Mark put an arm around her and turned the rest of the restaurant.  
"Young Rachel here has made a stand!" he said. She started giggling. "Will any of you?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went back to his table. She was giggling, trying to get her friends to join her on the table. Ah--corrupting the minds of the youth; didn't Socrates get put to death for that? Tonight, who cared? Mark came back on his table and laid down it as the waiter (the poor guy) was trying to do his job. He looked disgruntled.

Benny cheered for Rachel as he fumbled around behind the bar. He clearly had NO idea what he was doing. So he just decided to pull out bottles and cans. More and more people were coming up, causing him to smile. He watched the waitor walk by the bar, mumbling something under his breath. Benny laughed. Poor guy never gets a break.  
"Hey Mark," Benny yelled to his old friend. "Why don't you tell these people about the Bohemian way of life? I think they could use a little direction in their own lives!"

Mark was, at the moment, trying to kiss Maureen.  
"Eh?" He said. Tell them about the Bohemian way of life? What about? You've got to have a dream, and you've got to be willing to give up everything for it, including food, heat, and personal comfort. You've got to be willing to face your worst fears, but at the same time see things that nobody else has ever seen before: that friendship that only bonds out of hard times, and the love that is deeper than anything.  
"It totally rocks guys!" Mark said. "You've got to be willing to let go--let your hair down!" He said, pointing to a woman who literally had her hair up.

Benny laughed before walking over to the woman Mark was pointing to. She had her hair up in a clip, and Benny simply unclipped it, allowing it to fall over her shoulders. He tossed the clip on the table, before jumping up on it himself.  
"And you gotta be willing to let the moment take you where it wants to!"  
Benny pulled the woman up onto the table, laying a kiss on her lips and hoping against hope that none of the Greys decided to make a visit to the Alphabet City that night.

Maureen was a little taken aback by Mark trying to kiss her, especially with Joanne sitting right below them. Marky had never been quite that...aggressive when they were dating. She winked at him and sent one of her dazzling smiles in his direction. "You have to ask questions and go against the system!" She took it upon herself to say what she knew Collins would have said, had he been there. She reached down and grabbed Joanne's hand, momentarily forgetting the fight they had earlier. "C'mon Pookie, stand with us!"

Maureen-ian for "Back off." So, naturally, Mark managed to get his kiss before quickly jumping back over to Rachel, who was really starting to look embarrassed.  
"Hello again," Mark said brightly.  
"Hi," She said nervously.  
"So tell me, what are you standing for today?" Mark, (again, always the narrator) spun his camera around the face the girl, who again started giggling.  
"Hope," She said quietly. Her friends next to her started giggling now that she was and that Mark was standing amidst their food.  
"HOPE!" Mark announced to the rest of the watching patrons. She turned scarlet. "That's a beautiful thing, hope. And it's worth standing for. And it's quite bohemian," he added. This whole "hope" business meant more to Mark than he cared to admit. And where were Roger and Mimi? Mimi would love this.

Mimi had shouldered the door to the bathroom open, relieved when she found no one else in there. She put her back to the wall and slid down it. Everything seemed so hectic lately. She had been working practically every night, and when she wasn't working she was off in this world of false bliss with Roger. She put on a smile and her positive attitude. "No day but today!" she'd always remind him. But she slowly began to realize just what a joke it had become when you didn't know what tomorrow would bring and you were scared of what yesterday had already brought. One coughing fit was enough to send either of them over the edge, and talking about Angel and her dreams, the dreams she shared with Collins, the dreams that never got realized because her life ended too soon, made her sick. She knew that sooner rather than later, she'd be going through the same thing with Roger or he'd have to go through it with her. And this time there wouldn't be any miracles, no songs to bring her back. It would be over forever.  
Mimi gripped her hair between her fingers as she rested her forehead on her knees, her breathing becoming labored with anxiety.  
She wasn't quite sure why this was hitting her so hard, it really had no reason to. She had realized Angel's death before. Perhaps it was just the thought of losing another member of their haphazard family that hurt her. He would visit about as often as Angel did in her dreams, but this time Collins would be tangible. But it still hurt her.  
She broke into a coughing fit, gasping for air. She gripped onto the sink and pulled herself up. She turned the water on and splashed some on her face, but she just kept coughing and gasping. She fell back to the floor and leaned against the wall, desperately trying to get over this annoyance.

Roger reached the ladies' bathroom as soon as Mimi entered and the door shut. He had decided to wait there until she came out. He could hear the others trying to get the crowd going.  
Then Mimi started her coughing fit...  
She wouldn't - no - _couldn't_ stop and was gasping for air.  
"Mimi?" he called, pounding on the door. There was clear concern, mixed with a slight bit of fear in his voice.

Mimi barely heard Roger over her coughing, but heard him nonetheless. She was a little shocked that he had followed her to the bathroom. What did he think she'd be doing? She knew well enough to know what he thought she'd be doing, and she was a little let down that he thought she would steal away to the bathroom to snort some coke. She hadn't since her near-death experience, and promised Roger that she wouldn't anymore. Did he not trust her?  
Mimi's coughing fit finally stopped and after a few minutes of collecting herself, she brought herself to her feet and stood against the wall until she was able to regain her strength. She did a quick check in the mirror and plastered on a fake smile before opening the door to see Roger, a look of concern etched on his face.  
"Don't look so worried, I was only coughing," Mimi said, brushing her hand against his cheek. Her ears perked up to hear all the commotion going on in the dining room. "What's going on out there?"  
Mimi's smiled became wider and truer as she brushed past Roger and down the hall to see a number of people up on tables and craziness ensuing everywhere.  
"Well how did the party manage to start with out me?" she said, sauntering towards Mark.

"MIMI!" Mark yelled, vaulting the table and landing a few feet next to her. He was more nimble and quicker than a lot of people thought he was. Her face looked a little flushed. Mark threw an arm around her shoulder in such a way that it looked to everyone else he was leading her back toward the party. Mimi, who had a natural instinct for parties, didn't need leading. At the same time, he took the opportunity to lean in and asked her quietly: "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mimi said with a smile. "Never been better! I mean look at this place! Look at _him_!" Mimi pointed to Benny, who was mindlessly making out with some girl on a table. "How'd you manage to pull this off?"

Mark smiled. "Ah, well, you know--a little of this, a little of that. We're missing a little of you, though." he said. "We can't have a party without'cha. Welcome back." He walked her back to the table. The waiter, with great difficulty had managed to bring back their drinks.

Mimi smirked and took a look around. People were standing up on tables, random people were making out. It was just like her first night with her new group of friends all over again. She smiled at Mark before picking up one of the glasses and clinking a spoon against it, getting everyone's attention.  
"So y'all want to be bohemians? You gotta start living like today's your last! You have to start living with no regret! You have to trust your soul and just LIVE. And believe that fate will take its course. It will take loved ones from you and it will bring you closer and make you love people more than you thought could ever be possible. You have to believe in life. You have to know that whatever happens, it happens for a reason." Mimi stood on a chair. "You have to forget about money and know that that's not important. You have to let yourself go! You have to stand up for yourself every once in a while! You have to moo!" Mimi grinned at Maureen. "You just enjoy this gift that you're given, and realize that life's too damn short to sit around and worry about your past or your future. Just worry about this moment, right here, right now."

Maureen grinned back at Mimi. She had managed to sum up the bohemian way of life perfectly. And there was only one way to respond to that. "All of you here, if you believe in what we're saying, I want you to moo. Moo with me!" Maureen began mooing loudly, trying to coax the rest of the restaurant's patrons to join in.

Mimi laughed as she joined in with Maureen's mooing. Slowly but surely, some people even began to join in, not a lot, but enough.

_She sure seems chummy with Mark..._ Benny thought to himself, looking at Mimi, before what can only be described as a Grinch-like smile crept onto his face.  
"Excuse me for a minute," he said, giving his current fling a quick kiss before hopping down off the table.  
He hadn't exactly forgiven Mimi for making him look like a fool. She tried to toy with him, but she should know that when you mess with the bull, you get the horns.  
He went down the hallway towards the bathrooms to find Roger leaning against the wall, a worried look on his face.  
"Hey buddy, you're missing out on the party!" Benny said casually, slapping his chum on the back. Roger barely so much as even acknowledged his presence. Benny leaned in a little and brought his voice to a whisper. "If I were you though, I'd join right back in. I wouldn't want to be leaving Mark and Mimi alone. They seem awfully close, if you get my drift. I'd keep my eye on those two if I was dating Mimi. You never know with her. Just think about it... your girl fucking your best friend, and next thing you know, your best friend is dead pretty much because of your girlfriend. That'd be one hell of a vicious cycle."  
Benny gave Roger a light pat on the back before turning on his heel and walking back out into the dining room, a smirk on his face. As much as he did want Roger and Mark to work at Cyberland, sometimes they were just more fun to mess around with than to actually be companions with.

Roger had blinked. What Benny said _couldn't_ have been true...could it? Nah!  
However, there was that little nagging feeling...  
Roger made his way back to the dining area.

Mimi saw Roger coming back into the dining room, and so did Benny. He smirked as he went back to his make-out date, but made sure he was facing the drama that would soon be unfolding.  
She smiled as Roger walked over towards her before she jumped down and wrapped her legs around him, giving him a kiss.  
"Isn't this awesome!" she asked. "I can't believe Mark got everybody to do this again!"

Roger returned the kiss, but there was something different about it.  
Mimi pulled away from Roger, giving him a suspicious look.  
"What's wrong? You were all worried and concerned about me before and now you can't even give me a decent kiss?" Mimi raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Do you think I did something in the bathroom?" Mimi let herself drop back down to the floor and placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't do anything in there Roger. You heard the highlight of the trip."  
"No," Roger replied. "I mean, it was my first thought when you went in but that suspicion left so after." _'Easy Rog...'_ he thought to himself. _'You have no proof of anything happening 'tween your girlfriend and your best bud...'_  
Mimi moved her head back slightly and a look of sheer attitude crossed her face.  
"_That_ suspicion," she repeated with an attitude. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? What other suspicions do you have, Roger? What, do you not trust me now or something?"  
Benny noticed Mimi's stance. It was the one she took when she was just about ready for a fight. The head moved every time she talked, her right knee bent slightly and her hands never left her hips, as if to keep her grounded. He was in for a good one...  
Roger raised a brow.  
"And why would you say that, Mimi? Have you given me reason _not_ to trust you?"  
Mimi tilted her head to the side and let out a frustrated laugh.  
"I don't know Roger, why don't you tell me because apparently I did something that's just inexcusable in your eyes and I'd like to know what that would be."  
She bit down on her tongue, allowing her to keep her mouth shut. Mimi hated when Roger got like this, it had happened many times before when he thought she was cheating on him with Benny.  
"You're cheating on me with Mark! And I thought you couldn't hit any lower!" he spat.  
If eyes could bulge out of one's head, Mimi's surely would have at this moment, but they certainly did come pretty close.  
"What! That is--" Mimi looked around and then took Roger's arm and dragged him into the hallway to the bathroom. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! I'm NOT cheating on you, and I'm definitely not cheating on you with Mark! We're FRIENDS, Roger! I can't even believe you would think that!"  
Benny saw that Mimi had taken Roger out of the dining room, figuring the drama was just beginning. He excused himself from the girl once again, who was now growing tired of his behavior, and went over towards the hallway, again busying himself with drinks while he listened.  
"Yeah, friends with BENEFITS!" Roger shot back angrily. "Don't think I haven't noticed chummy you two have been getting lately. Yes, he had seen Mark and Mimi up there on that table even before Mimi had seen him.  
Mimi looked at Roger and had to laugh.  
"You can't be serious." She searched Roger's eyes for some sign of playfulness, but didn't find anything. "You are serious. Where the hell did this even come from anyway!"  
"I, like _Mark_," Roger spat, "observe things as well!" His eyes narrowed.  
"Observe _what_?" Mimi spat back. "Ever since we started going out, all you were worried about was staying friends with Mark and giving me enough time and you were always worried we'd get jealous of each other. So now when we start to hit it off, you start assuming we're sleeping together? Is it so hard to believe that I can have a guy friend that I don't fuck? Because believe it or not, I do."

Roger came back out of the bathroom, looking furious. Mark sighed. He had mooed a few times, just for old time's sake, and then jumped down off the table to see what was going on. As soon as he turned around, though, Mimi and Roger were gone. It didn't take long for him to find them, however. He felt awkward, though. He sensed they had just had a fight and he was (almost literally) walking in the middle of it. Out of respect for them (and also to not to make them any more mad) he lowered his camera.  
"Hey guys," he said in a voice that he hoped was light and conversational. "You know, the party's this way." He pretended that he just NOW noticed something was wrong. "Are you two okay?" He said. "What happened?"

Roger turned around. "We're just peachy," he responded back quite sarcastically.  
A tone that was supposed to hint to Mark that it wasn't _his_ business just now.  
Roger would get around to him later.

"Okay..." Mark said. He didn't know if liked the tone in Roger's voice. It said, quite clearly, that he was very angry about something and that Mark had some how been the cause of it. He stood there for a moment in the forced silence wracking his brains out trying to think of what he could have possibly done...and the only thing he could think of was:  
"This isn't about me leaving with Maureen and Joanne is it?" He said. He then plundered on. "I invited you guys to come with, but I figured you two wanted some time."

Roger's furious eyes didn't leave Mark. "Yeah, 'buddy,' that's _just_ what the problem is!" he shot in that same sarcastic tone.  
Ouch. Roger was not very friendly. The best thing to do at the moment was back off. "Alright, well, sorry," He said in a slightly offended tone. "I'm heading over here now--catch you later...I guess."  
"No. Roger, grow some balls and tell him what your deal is. I shouldn't have to be the only one getting heat for this little problem of yours," Mimi snapped.  
Mark stopped in his tracks. Ah-ha, Mimi and Roger were fighting. Mark didn't want to be dragged into the middle of it.  
"Right _now_ it's none of his business Mimi!" Roger spat. "Right _now_ it's between _you_ and _me_!"  
_Can we leave it that way?_ Mark thought to himself. Instead, he said: "Look, I have no business---"  
"No, I think it is his business, Roger. After all, the two of us are apparently sleeping together so why shouldn't he know."  
Mimi's sentence stopped him from finishing his thought. He looked from one to the other. He then burst out laughing, and received a look that could kill from Roger.  
Mark stopped laughing long enough to look from one to the other "Tell me you're joking," he said.  
"He's not," Mimi said coldly.  
Mark continued to chuckle and shook his head. "That's ridiculous." He looked up at Roger. "Don't tell me you seriously think that."  
"I told him that I wasn't, but apparently I can't have any guy friends that I don't sleep with."  
"Well, I would hope you do," Mark said.  
"Sluts don't usually have guy _friends_!" Roger responded.  
Yikes. "C'mon, Rog, be sensible. I'm your best friend--you know I wouldn't do that to you. I mean, Mimi's pretty, don't get me wrong, but I don't sleep with your girl, you know that." _At least I hope you do._  
Mimi looked at Roger, a look of shock coming across her face, before SLAPPING him hard across his. "A slut? I'm a fucking SLUT now!" Mimi could hardly believe her ears.  
Benny, meanwhile, was trying to subdue his laughter.  
There was a loud SMACK as Mimi's hand found Roger's face. His hand went to his cheek automatically.

"Mimi!" Mark said. "Easy, woman!" he grabbed her wrist as she tried to slap Roger again. "Take it easy."  
"Well who the fuck does he think he is calling me a slut!"  
Mark looked at Roger. "And just where did you get this idea that we're sleeping together?"  
"He observes things," Mimi said mockingly.  
Roger growled at Mimi's jibe and would have gone for her if Mark hadn't spoken up.  
"I don't know---but I'd like to know who he thinks he is that he would question our friendship."  
"Observes things?" Mark said sarcastically. "Well, you're looking the wrong angle, buddy." He said. He was getting heated now that he knew that his friend SERIOUSLY thought he was sleeping with his girlfriend.  
Mark was watching Roger. "Well?" He demanded. "Do you think we're sleeping together?"  
"Yeah, I think you're fucking around with her!" he spat. There! It was out.  
Mark looked offended. "Well, I see how much my loyalty has meant to you--" He was shaking mad now, and could see that Mimi was too. He grabbed her by her arm. "Let's go--what was that? 'fuck around?'"  
"More like 'get the hell out of here, if this is what it's going to be.'"  
"Yeah, I'm with you," Mimi said, giving Roger a cold stare. "You are so pathetic sometimes, you really, really are."  
And with that Mark turned to leave, but before he did, he turned around to face Roger and said "You know? I thought you had more faith in me than that." And with that, he walked through the cafe and out the door. Mimi just glared at him for a moment longer before following Mark out the door.  
Benny had to laugh, he just had to. And he did. For a while. But then he composed himself and wandered back in the hallway, acting like he had no idea what was going on.  
"What's the deal with Mark and Mimi leaving together? You did see that, right?" Benny asked, verbally poking and prodding at all of Roger's angry spots. "You look mad, dude. You okay?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:You should know thatthe RPers decided to name The Man Jerry. Do not ask. Just don't. Or you will be treated to Roger's and Mimi/Benny'stwo-page thread devoted to an individual initialed JK. Heh. Sorry. Lots of strategically positioned lines here; bear with it.

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**

**Chapter Four**

Mimi was fuming, to say the least. Her face was flushed and her hands were shaking with anger. Her stomach was twisted into a giant knot. She and Roger had never gotten into this big of a fight. Not even prior to Roger leaving to go to Santa Fe did they have a fight this bad. And what they were fighting over only infuriated her more.  
"Can you believe this?" Mimi said, finally breaking the silence between her and Mark. "I don't know where the hell this even came from. He--" Mimi broke off mid-sentence as she started coughing again. She stopped walking and put a hand on one of the buildings they were passing to keep her balance. Luckily this one wasn't as bad as her previous one and didn't last nearly as long. She regained her composure and slowly began to walk again, eventually grabbing onto Mark's arm in fear that she would fall over from lack of strength. Mark instinctively went to catch her and hold her up. "Have you been taking your medicine?" he asked, but his mind was far from it.  
"He was fine until I went into the bathroom," Mimi started again, her voice with a little less anger in it, having lost the strength from coughing. "I don't know what the hell's gotten into him. He always was bitching about how we didn't seem to get along when we first started going out and now that we're friends he can't handle it."

"I know! One minute everything is all fine-and-dandy, and the next minute we're cheating! I'm mean---holy shit--doesn't Roger have ANY faith in me? In you? In us? Think about it--he should know you well enough to know that I'm not your type and know me well enough that I wouldn't sleep with his girlfriend! I mean, c'mon! He's my best friend, not my access to women. For the record, I've been screwed less since Maureen left, and honey, no offense to you, but I wouldn't sleep with you because you are not mine!" Mark still couldn't believe that Roger would seriously think this. "I mean--hasn't what we've been through (all of us, that is) enough for him?"

"Apparently not," Mimi said coldly. "I mean, it's like as if Angel telling me not to die and be with him isn't enough. I could have said 'fuck you Angel, I'm glad I'm dying because I don't want to be with him.' But I didn't. I listened to her and I came back _for him_. And then I have to put up with this shit? And even after I came back, he still would talk to me about Benny as if I was cheating on him. Sometimes I wish I really _had_ died that night."  
Mimi knew that sounded harsh. That whole speech sounded harsh. But sometimes it was true. Sometimes she wished she didn't have to deal with this and just have Roger living alone in misery. Then again, that's probably what he'll be doing until she and Mark can convince him otherwise anyway, if it's even worth it anymore...

"Aw honey, you don't mean that," Mark said. Those were some harsh words. Some very. Harsh. Words. "He loves you, you know that. He's just an insensitive bastard at times." Mark sighed. "Well, I'm heading back to the loft---and if Roger gives a damn about me or you, he'll contact us eventually."  
The thought of _What if he DOESN'T..._ crossed his mind, but he ignored it.

She supposed she didn't mean what she said. But her temper was just as bad as Roger's, if not worse. And that is exactly why they ALWAYS fought.  
"I think I'll keep walking. I need to cool down a little bit. Then I'm probably going to stay at my place tonight," Mimi told Mark. "You're more than welcome to come down if he gives you more shit... even though I guess that wouldn't really help much. But whatever. I'll see you later."  
Mimi went down one of the side streets and eventually made her way onto St. Mark's Place. She just wandered around for a little bit, not really looking to go anywhere in particular. She felt around in her pockets, trying to find if she had enough money to break a promise. She had $50 from the previous night's work. That should get her a little something... enough to tide her over for the night at least. She headed down St. Mark's Place towards one of her usual hang-outs. This would be easier to deal with when she was high; reality was never fun when she wasn't.

Roger didn't say a word.  
Like Mimi and Mark, he was furious to the point of shaking.  
With a growl, he shoved Benny out of the way and left the Life.  
However, he didn't head back to the loft. No, Mark and Mimi would be there. He just headed out and away.

* * *

Maureen saw Mark and Mimi storm out of the Life. What the hell had happened? Then she spotted Benny cackling in the corner of the room, near the hall that led to the bathroom. What ever had happened between Roger, Mimi and Mark she had a pretty good idea where it had started. She saw Benny go into to the hallway, presumably to talk to Roger. Maureen jumped down from the table and flung open the door to the hallway, marching right up to Benny. "What the fuck did you do?"

Benny sighed as he heard Maureen's shrill voice. It got to the point that whenever she talked, it was like nails on a chalkboard. He turned around with a roll of his eyes.  
"Chill out Maureen. I didn't do shit. I can't help if Mark, Mimi and Roger have issues. It's not my deal. I saw them storm out of here and I knew Roger was in here so I wanted to see what the deal was. Is that such a crime?"

Maureen rolled her eyes. She had never gotten along with Benny. "Look, I know you did something. I saw you go to talk to Roger right before this whole escapade happened. We both know that I don't like you and that you don't like me. But I am warning you, don't screw with my friends." Her voice was lowered considerably, almost dangerously. They had all just reached something that could be called normal and Benny went and messed it up. Angel and Collins, the usual peacemakers, were not longer there to fix things and Mark...well, Maureen wagered he was part of the issue. So it was up to her to make sure things were set right.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Benny asked with a laugh. "Maureen, give it up. You just want someone to blame Roger and Mimi's problems on, just like the two of them do, and for some reason I'm always the scapegoat. How about facing reality and realize that the two of them aren't exactly Sonny and Cher."  
Benny gave Maureen a warning glance before walking past her, grabbing his coat and heading out onto the street.

* * *

After leaving the Life, Roger walked the streets. There was no way he was heading back to the loft! As he walked the streets of New York, Roger's mind began going back, as it always seemed to in tough times, to three years earlier.  
To April. To his time as a junkie...  
He had been clean for two and a half years. However, that didn't mean that during difficult times he would have the urge just to escape reality...

* * *

Mimi finally reached her destination. Tonight sure was a night for nostalgia, as this was the same spot that Roger found her practically scrounging at the bottom of the bucket to get anything she possibly could. He came and apologized to her for acting like a jerk. She let out a laugh, which ended up more like a snort, at the thought of Roger trying to apologize for the mess he'd gotten himself into this time. Mimi found her man finally. She smiled as she sauntered up to him.  
"You got any blow?"  
"Well, well, well, look who it is. I knew you'd come crawling back," he said, pulling a tiny bag out from his pocket, the white powder looking so amazing to Mimi.  
"You are the only man for me. You do me no wrong," Mimi said, handing over the money and taking the tiny packet, slapping it lightly against her hand and examining it.

* * *

Tonight had been too much for Roger. His urge was stronger than ever and he subconsciously dug into his coat pocket. He and Mimi had stopped by the Food Emporium ATM in order to get money to pay for his and Mimi's food at the Life. He had no money, but a year ago Collins had rewired that ATM with a special code in Angel's memory.  
He had enough money.  
His pace quickened towards St Mark's Place.

* * *

"What ever happened to Loverboy? I thought he told you ya couldn't take anymore," the man asked, watching Mimi look over the coke.  
"Yeah, and you saw how long that lasted," she said with a bitter laugh. "He was a junkie, too. He should know you can't help it when you need a fix."  
"But even you said you were done when I came to your work a couple months ago."  
"And I lied, big deal. Apparently, I do a lot of that."  
Mimi slid down the wall as she opened up the packet. She wasn't even bothering with trying to break it up; it was fine enough for her at the moment. She put her nose in the bag and inhaled deeply. She closed her eyes and a smile came across her face.  
"That's some good shit."  
"Only the best for my favorite customer."  
It was then Roger came onto the scene. He didn't see Mimi, but of course he wasn't looking for her.  
He was in need of one thing and his eyes looked amongst the 'usuals'.  
Jerry looked over to see who was coming and let out a slight chuckle.  
"Well, it seems you aren't the only one lying."  
"Huh?" Mimi said, barely even listening to what he said, simply allowing the high to overcome her.  
"Looks like Loverboy's on his way now," the dealer said, giving Roger his evil grin. "Welcome back Loverboy. What can I get you?"  
Mimi's eyes slowly traveled over to the man, and then to his new customer.  
"Fuck," Mimi said under her breath once she realized who it was.  
She brought her knees to her chest and put her head to her legs. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this; she just wanted to escape.  
He clutched the money in his pocket.  
Something deep down was nagging at him not to do it. Not to buy his fix with this money.  
The man raised his eyebrows. "You want somethin' or not? I got whatever you need."  
Roger pushed the feeling aside. Fuck it! He needed this fix.  
"Got any smack?" he finally decided.  
"You know it man," the man said, reaching inside his coat pocket and pulling out a needle. He held it out for Roger to take, his evil grin becoming even wider.  
Roger pulled the money he needed out of his coat pocket. He couldn't look at the man, knowing he held that evil grin. He gave the money away and took the needle.  
The man laughed his rugged laugh.  
"Don't feel too bad, Loverboy. Your girlfriend gave in, too."  
Mimi now knew why she hated being permantly high: high people don't know how to keep their mouths shut.  
Roger hesitated. Mimi...Mimi was here? …'Fuck her!' he thought angrily, which brought him back to the thought of why he was there in the first place. Needle in hand, he moved a few feet away from the man.  
Mimi didn't move. It was dark in the alley anyway, and there were so many druggies around that it'd be nearly impossible for him to find her anyway.  
For a moment, his eyes scanned the druggies that had gathered. However, there were so many and it had grown dark. She looked up a little bit, allowing her hair to fall in her face. Her eyes followed Roger. She saw him move away from the man and when she thought he was out of hearing range, she grabbed him by the leg and yanked him over to her.

"What the fuck are you doing? Why did you tell him I was here?" she asked through clenched teeth.  
"What difference does it make? By the looks of it you're both already on the outs with each other or you wouldn't both be here, now would you?"  
Suddenly, Mimi's high didn't feel too great. She looked down at the packet in her hand before looking up at Roger. He'd been clean for so long and now... Mimi shook her head. It was his own fucking fault anyway. Why did she care? She brought the packet back to her nose and inhaled another nose-full of coke.  
Once again, the nagging feeling came back. There were other's who'd be disappointed if they knew. There was Collins. There was Angel... Collins and Angel...Ha! Both had left Roger's life. Collins was down in Santa Fe and Angel was dead.  
Roger was beginning to think April had the right idea. Fuck being 'clean' and… "Fuck. Life!" he spat before he shot up.  
Mimi rolled her eyes in frustration as she heard Roger mumbling. Like he honestly had anything to be upset about. He was doing this all to himself. She and Mark clearly weren't doing anything, it was just his own insecurity and paranoia that was getting the best of him, not like that was anything new anyway.  
"Fuck life," Mimi said under her breath. "You hear that?"  
"Yeah, what's the deal with this now? Last time I saw you two you were all lovey-dovey and shit. Now you don't even wanna talk to him."  
"Remember the dude with the camera?"  
"Yeah."  
"That's Roger's best friend and today he decided to tell us he thought I was cheating on him with the camera man."  
"Are you?"  
"No! Please. I love Mark to death, but NOT like that."  
"Well it's not like you're exactly a one-guy girl."  
"Yeah, that was while I was still doing this shit. And you were the only one I fucked anyway, and that was once in a blue moon so that barely even counts. You know I use you just for my fix," Mimi said, inhaling once again, her high suddenly smacking her in her face.  
"I know, but I can't complain," the man said with a shrug.  
While Mimi was sharing her problem with the dealer, Roger's high hit him full on.  
After all, he _had_ been clean for two and a half years.  
He went over to a building and leaned against it, sliding down it to the ground.

Mimi looked over at Roger and shook her head.  
"He was always worried that I was cheating on him all the time that him always bitching about it made me want to actually do it so he could have the satisfaction of being right for once,"  
"You know, I'm up for something now if you want. I may not be the cameraman but--"  
"No, thanks, that's okay. I got what I came for. I probably should be heading back anyway."  
Mimi stood up but immediately felt light-headed and fell right back down. She started laughing, because as we all know, when one is high, they're invincible. However, unfortunately, Mimi's laughter caused her to go into her third coughing fit of the day.  
Mother...fucker... Mimi thought between coughs.  
Roger heard the cough and looked in the direction.  
He tried to focus his eyes.  
Mimi was now realizing just how bad it probably was to have taken a hit when she hadn't been doing too well that day. She felt like she'd be on her death bed in half a second the way this was going. Even in her high state, she felt like death. That wasn't normal for her. She pulled her jacket around her mouth, as if that'd muffle it at all when her coughs were already echoing through the alley.  
"Mimi…?" he said softly. One could hear the high in his voice. For a moment, the worried concern returned.  
Mimi waved her hand dismissively as she heard Roger's voice, once again full of his "concern." He was high, he didn't know any better.  
Roger shook his head. Why was he concerned now? If it even _was_ Mimi, let _Mark_ take care of it!  
"Um, that's not from the blow, just for the record. That shit was pure," the man said.  
Mimi finally stopped coughing, or at least it had calmed down. She tasted a metallic taste in her mouth, and turned her head, spitting out blood. Not that it was the first time that had happened, but it was certainly never encouraging.  
"I know, asshole. I have AIDS, remember?" Mimi said between breaths once she had gotten herself back together.  
"Oh yeah," Jerry said, but he was off in la-la-land with pretty much the rest of the alley, Mimi included, but a fit that bad was certainly a bit of a buzz kill.  
Once the coughing had stopped, Roger went back to his high.  
He had forgotten how 'good' it felt to just to leave dingy New York for a while.  
Roger closed his eyes.  
Mimi clawed her way up the building she had been sitting against until she was standing. She leaned against it for a few moments until she felt like she was strong enough to walk back to her apartment. Or maybe since she had a feeling Roger wouldn't be finding his way back home, she would crash at the loft. It was all up in the air at that point.  
"I'm splittin'. I can't be out here in this cold with this cough and this high. It's just not working for me tonight," Mimi said to Jerry.  
"Well don't be a stranger around here anymore, baby. You know I'll hook you up whenever you need something."  
"Yeah... thanks," Mimi said, rolling the idea of getting whatever she wanted in her head. "I'll see you around. Stop by the club tomorrow night, I'm working."  
With that Mimi started for the street, simply walking by Roger.

* * *

Benny was walking along St. Mark's Place. Why, he didn't quite know, but he was. He saw a tiny figure coming out of an alley and soon enough, recognized it to be Mimi. He put his head down, averting her attention, but she wasn't paying much attention to the people on the streets anyway. He looked down the alley that she had come out of and had to laugh. She just didn't know how to handle any pressure with out those damn drugs. But then he saw another familiar figure.  
"Roger?" he asked as he made his way into the dark drug abyss."What the hell are you doin' man?"  
Jerry got up from the ground and made his way over to Benny.  
"Loverboy's got a friend here, huh? What can I get you?"  
"Wha-- I don't do this stuff man. I know this guy."  
"Well if you're not buying, then get the hell outta my alley."  
Benny rolled his eyes and took in the sight of Roger.  
"Do you even have a place to stay tonight man? 'Cause I know you're not going back to the loft like this..."  
"Damn right I ain't headin' back to the loft!" Roger responded.  
But of course, he was thinking of other reasons why he wasn't going to go back.  
"Do you want to stay at my place?" Benny offered, as thoughts filled his head of what propaganda he could fill Roger with.  
"Wouldn't Muffy object?" Roger responded.  
Benny sighed.  
"_Muffy_ will get over it. You're obviously... not right. I'm not going to let you just wander the streets by yourself all night."  
Roger gave a snort. 'Not right.'  
He had to give a laugh.  
"I'll take you up on your offer then," he replied finally. Anything other then the loft was better than the street.  
"Aright come on then. My car's parked a couple blocks away."  
"You sure you don't want some horse for the road man?" Jerry asked.  
"No, I'm good. Come on Roger. You don't belong here."  
Roger slowly stood, wobbling some as he got to his feet.  
He blinked, getting his eyes into focus.  
Benny sighed a little.  
"You need some help?"  
"Nah...I'm alright."  
"Aright then man. Let's bounce."  
"Nice seein' ya again!" Jerry said.  
"...dude I've never seen you before in my life."  
"Oh," Jerry said, a little sad. He walked away and went back to his customers as Benny led the way to his car.

* * *

**A/N: Putting it out there once and for all; unless there's an unforseenproblem, this story will be updated every other day/ every third day from now on until I get to the parts that haven't been written yet.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Benny arrived in front of his chic apartment building on the Upper East Side of New York, looking out over Central Park. It was beautiful, but certainly not bohemian in any sense of the word.  
He got out of his car and walked around onto the sidewalk, waiting for Roger to get out.  
"Alison's probably sleeping by now so I don't think she'll be too much of a problem tonight," he informed Roger, knowing that if Roger saw "Muffy" in his current state, he was sure to have a few choice words for her.

Roger didn't reply however as he slowly made his way out of the car.  
Like Mimi, Roger was also now coming down from his high. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like coming down. Now, he remembered and gave a soft groan. If Roger regretted it now, he'd regret it even more tomorrow. He was also sure to get it from Mark once Mimi mentioned what she had seen to his roommate.  
"Fuck Mark..." he muttered angrily to himself, shaking that thought away. What did he care?

"...right, fuck Mark," Benny said, slightly confused as to where this small outburst had come, but agreed nonetheless.  
Benny took a hold of Roger, who seemed to be struggling a little to regain his balance, and led him into the building and upstairs to his apartment.  
As he suspected, Alison was sound asleep in their bedroom, so Benny let Roger crash on the couch. He went into the kitchen and got Roger a glass of water. He handed it to him before taking a seat on the coffee table.  
"How's it feel to be comin' down?" Benny asked, knowing the answer well enough already.

Roger collapsed on the couch. He took the glass of water Benny handed to him and took a drink. He glared at Benny's question.

"Like shit!" was his reply. "Remind me _never_ to do that again..." Roger ran a hand through his hair.

"You'll feel better tomorrow. Then tomorrow we can just take you back to your place and you can talk shit out with Mimi and Mark," Benny said casually, hoping to get a rise out of his old friend.

"...Back..." Roger muttered.  
He wasn't really looking forward to going back. He knew what he would face upon his return. Especially if Mimi told Mark about tonight.  
"Well you gotta go back sometime. You gotta stop this shit between them before it gets any worse," Benny said simply.  
Rogersupposed Benny was right. However, even now Roger was begining to doubt Benny's words on the whole thing.  
"Even now you never know what they could be doing. You leave them alone for one night and who knows."  
Roger shook his head.  
"It's true, man. They left together and you think they're gonna go back and have coffee or somethin'? I don't think so.  
"I...just can't believe Mark would do this to me…"  
"Sometimes your best friends are your biggest enemies."  
"No! Mark wouldn't. Maureen cheated on him. He _knows_ what that's like!"  
"Well maybe he wants to see what it's like. He wants closure or some bullshit."  
"I still can't believe it..." Roger replied with a sigh. "Mark and I knew each other forever."  
"Yeah, but shit happens man. People change; it's all a part of life."  
"I can't believe it," Roger said again. "I won't believe it!" He looked to Benny. "I'm going by your word and on assumptions."  
Benny held his hands up in defense. "I'm just tellin' it like I see it, dude. I'm tryin' to help you out."

Roger sighed and backed down from his defense. "There's no proof. I had no right to blow up at them like I did tonight..."  
"What are you talking about? You saw with your own two eyes and have been seeing how they act around each other. You had every right."  
"I assumed," Roger shot back. "Because of you bringing it to my attention."  
Benny rolled his eyes.  
"Don't shoot the messenger. You already went through too much shit. I didn't want to see you hurt again."  
Roger took a deep breath.  
"Besides, if worse comes to worse, you can get a new best friend and a new girlfriend. Not like it's the end of the world or anything."  
Somehow, Roger doubted that. He didn't tell Benny that, though.  
An awkward silence seemed to settle over the room and after a few moments, Benny got up.  
"Well, I think I'm gonna go hit the hey. You need anything else?"  
He shook his head.  
"Nah...I should be fine for tonight…"  
"Aright, good shit. See ya in the morning buddy."  
With that, Benny headed down the hall and into his bedroom. He smiled a little at his sleeping wife before making himself comfortable next to her.  
Roger set the glass of water down on the coffee table before positioning himself on the couch. His eyes went up to the ceiling as he gave another sigh.

* * *

Mark's stomach dropped as he sat in the loft editing some footage for comfort. He was still smoldering about everything that Roger had accused him of. Roger, accusing him of sleeping with Mimi! it was absurd. Who the HELL did Roger think he was? And doesn't he know Mark well enough to know that he wouldn't do that to him? Mark, getting aggravated all over again, slammed down his film. He wasn't going to get shit done tonight and he knew it. It was going to be impossible for him to concentrate on cutting his film when all he could think about was how betrayed he felt. Betrayed that Roger would doubt him and seriously think he would do that to him!  
Mark sat back, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. That makes no sense. Mimi and Mark were FRIENDS--but nothing more. Mark wasn't exactly Mimi's type, and Mimi wasn't exactly his. Mark needed someone to talk to, and when he was that stressed, he could only think of one name. He put back on his glasses and dashed over to the phone.  
He picked up the phone and called Maureen and Joanne's. No one answered. Right, because they were still at the Life, Mark reminded himself. He called Joanne's cell-phone, but hung it up after the second ring. What was he doing? Maureen moved on, had a new life. She didn't need to deal with him and his insecurities anymore. But damn, he needed someone to talk to. And Roger was who-knows-where, and Mark didn't know if he wanted to talk to Roger at the moment anyway.

Maureen was fuming. She just knew that Benny had something to do with this. Obviously, confronting him hadn't worked. Why would it have? You needed a soul to feel bad for things you've done, and Benny had that sucked out a long time ago. Maureen headed out of the hallway and looked around the Life. She didn't see Joanne anywhere. Where they still fighting? She shrugged it off. She would deal with that later. At the moment, she decided to check on Mark and Mimi. Maureen walked out of the Life and down the street to the loft. Quickly she took the stairs and knocked on the door.

"It's open!" Mark spat out. "Not like we lock the fucking thing anyway." Mark was expecting Roger to come in and was bracing himself for the fight. He was not going to tolerate Roger treating him like shit when he didn't deserve it. When the door opened and he saw Maureen, his expression changed.  
"Oh--sorry, I didn't know it was you." He said, getting up to get the door for her. "I just tried to call you--" he felt stupid the moment he said it. She didn't need to know he still thought of her as a confidant. "I mean--I just wanted someone to talk to, and here you are." He said this as if it was a coincidence.

"Well, you know me. I have that whole psychic vibe thing going on." Maureen joked lightly, stepping through the door. She sat down on the beat-up old couch and looked up at him. "I am here, so go ahead and talk." Maureen was never one to beat around the bush.

"It's just," Mark sighed in aggravation before throwing his hands up. "I can't believe he would seriously believe that, you know? I mean, me, c'mon, me. We've known each other since we were kids and he has the honest to God balls to look me in the face and tell me that I'm doing that to him? Who does he think he is? If Mimi's got a bad record with her, that's not my fault, so don't bring me in the middle of it! But then he seriously thinks that I would DO that to him? Get real! And like I've got the drive to do that to him, even if I wanted to! You know me, Maureen; we dated for what, five years? You know for a FACT that I wouldn't do that to you, what makes him think I would do that to him? He's my best friend, for God's sake!" It felt really good to just get all of this out, so hardly stopping to catch my breath, I continued. "And to top it all off, I come home and wait for him so we can figure out what the hell is going on and he just blows, now I don't know where he is, or Mimi--who left a while ago. I don't know what the fuck is going on and nobody is talking to me because a) their pissed at me for doing something I didn't do or b) they don't know what the hell is going on either!"  
He ended his whole speech on a rough note.

Maureen had never heard Mark this angry before. It was almost scary. "Whoa, slow down, Mark. What is Roger accusing you guys of?" Maureen was a bit lost, not having actually heard any of the fight between the three.

"I didn't tell you?" Mark was so sure he mentioned it. "Roger seriously thinks that Mimi and I are having an affair. I don't know WHERE he got that idea. He was fine this morning! But he actually accused us of having an affair."

"What!" Maureen exclaimed. Then Mimi walked in.

Her high had dramatically taken a nosedive into more of a low, which crack usually does to a person anyway.  
She climbed up the stairs, gripping onto the railing as she made her way up to the loft. She pushed open the door and saw Mark and Maureen sitting in the front room.  
"Hey. I'm on a low, don't mind me. I'm going to bed... or something. If Roger comes home..." Mimi began, but never ended as she just went into the room she shared with Roger and slammed the door behind her.  
She looked around, everything reminding her of her relationship that was crumbling. In her altered state of mind she hadn't really thought that coming back to the room she _shared_ with Roger would actually make her _think_ of Roger.  
She walked over to the dressed and pulled open one of her drawers, trying to find a change of clothes. She ended up coming across a number of things that Roger had given her and a number of things of his that she had saved, which she had forgotten she kept in that drawer... because she was high/low. She pulled everything out piece by piece, giving it a disgusted glare as if it were a voodoo doll and Roger would end up feeling every one of them.  
There was a chain of Roger's with a guitar pick of his on it. A pair of furry leopard print handcuffs for their own personal enjoyment. A couple pieces of paper with the lyrics from songs he had written for her. Some pictures from one of those cheesy photo booths that Mimi made Roger take. A poster from his first gig back at CBGBs wrapped around a couple of pictures of him on stage that she had bought off of a photographer there. A roll of film Mark had cut and given to them after Mimi's near-death experience of the two of them together and happy and of the two of them together and fighting. Roger never really had been much of a fantastic gift giver. All her presents usually consisted of a new song he had written about her that he was so excited to play for her. Many times she was touched by each and every one of them, but sometimes she wanted more. A day with him all to herself with out the guitar... or more. After all, Mimi was a material girl living in a material world.  
She looked at all of it before deciding she wanted nothing to do with it, not tonight, not ever. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was over. If he couldn't trust her with his best friend, then who could he trust her with? It was pointless. If his guitar was in there, she surely would've smashed that into a thousand little tiny pieces of wood as well. Lucky for Roger, he never kept it in their room, which was now going to be her room.  
She took all the things and put them in a shoebox she found under _her_ bed. She was half tempted to just throw everything out _her_ window, but decided that the people below were too good to be littered with presents from a heartless ass hole. She simply opened the door and plopped it outside in the hallway. She would deal with it tomorrow when she felt like walking downstairs to the dumpster.  
She decided maybe she wouldn't change her clothes after all and just climbed into bed, drifting off into a dream as soon as her head hit the pillow.

There was something off about Mimi, Maureen thought, like she had...but she wouldn't, right? Apparently she had. Maureen had seen April and Roger coming down off their highs enough times to recognize it, even without Mimi saying anything.

"Shit," Mark muttered under his breath when Mimi's door slammed. "Why did she have to do that?" He looked at Maureen. "Being wasted right now is only going to make matters worse, especially when Roger gets home. You know he hates it when she gets wasted."

When Mimi went into the bedroom, Maureen turned back to Mark. "Mark...I don't think Roger came to this conclusion on his own."

"To be honest, Maureen, I don't either." Mark said with a sigh. "If he would sink this low, then he's too stupid to come up with it. I don't think he's just looking for something to be pissed at, but he either thinks he saw something and took it the wrong way or something really innocent got twisted in his mind and it looks like something it's not, you know?" Mark sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do about him. Or her at that moment. Right now, let's just leave her in her room to sleep it off and when Roger comes in--well, we'll deal with that when Roger comes in."

Behind him, Mimi had opened and slammed her door shut again. When he turned around, he saw that she had set a box outside her door, and three bucks said it was full of Rogers stuff. "She doesn't want to do that," Mark said, almost to himself. He made his way over to their closed door and picked up the box. The back of his neck was sweating; because of the scarf but also because Maureen had thought enough to come in and check on him. That DID really mean a lot to him. He took off his scarf, which slid to the floor. As long as it was still in the house, he'd be able to find it later. He grabbed the box and set it in his room on top of the small bookshelf/dresser.  
"She'll be wanting those again, I just know it." He said as he came back into the front room and sat down again. "Thanks a lot for coming over here, hon." He half-smiled.

"Hey, I couldn't let my favorite cameraman deal with this on his own. Besides, Joanne has been ignoring me all night anyway. I figured it be much better to come here and be paid attention to," Maureen responded casually. But secretly, she was thrilled that Mark noticed she made the effort. Maureen looked towards Mimi's door as she heard it slam again. Mark had gotten up to pick up the box Mimi pushed out the door. Roger's stuff. This was worse than Maureen thought. Mark went to put the box in his room and Maureen leaned back against the couch. 'What are you doing, Maureen?' The thought was sudden, catching her off-guard. 'Why did you come running here after that fight with Joanne? Why do you always run here?' Because Mark has always been a good friend to her, even when she screwed up. That was the only reason...right?  
"Hey, are you okay?" Mark asked. "You're good, but you don't usually jump thirty feet in the air when I talk to you." He tried to ignore her comment about Joanne ignoring her, but at the moment, that bit of information seemed vital at the moment. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't hear you come back in." Maureen forced a small smile onto her face, as if to prove she was fine.

Mark's life was hitting yet another plummet downward; Roger is accusing him of cheating, Mimi is wasted and in bed, and Mark was again alone.  
Well, not completely alone. Maureen had come over, which wasn't a bad thing at all. It was a very good thing. She was there for him now moment just as much he was there for her. But for what?  
"So..." Mark said as they reached a silence.

"So..." When had they run out of things to say? Maureen decided to swing things back around to Roger and Mimi. She lowered her voice and scooted closer to Mark so that Mimi wouldn't overhear in the other room. "Mark, I think Benny had something to do with all this. I know, I'm not the biggest fan of Benny so it seems like I'm just trying to pin stuff on him, but I really think that he said something to Roger about you and Mimi. I saw him go in to talk to Roger right before Roger stormed out and found Mimi. And, I mean, he has the motive and everything...do you think I'm just being paranoid?"

Mark threw her idea around in his head for a while. Sure, Benny had a motive--but did he really have the guts to do that? It was hard to tell.  
"I don't know," he finally said, also scooting a little toward her so as not to be overheard--not that Mimi cared about what they were talking about in her state anyway. "I mean, yeah, it's not far from Benny to do something like that, but every other time he's every done it he hasn't lied or made it up. I mean, he really slept with Mimi, so...would he make something like that up?"

"I don't know." Maureen admitted. "But I wouldn't put it past Benny to even just plant the idea in Roger's head. He knows Roger well enough to know that once that idea is there..." Maureen trailed off. "I wish Collins was here. He would know exactly what to do to fix this. Or at least have some sort of wisdom to share. I really miss him, Mark."

"I know. We all do because he was a part of our family. I want him back here with us, but at the same time I want him to be happy, and if that's in Santa Fe, then so be it. He's a big boy; he can make up his own mind." I sighed. "I don't know--the chance of Benny trying to screw up me and Roger's friendship is slim. You saw how he was when we were all out together--and even when he wasn't 'chummy' with us, he never tried to mess with our relationship, you know? Mimi is another thing, but like I said, that was well founded. I know Benny can be a real prick, but I don't think he would sink so low as to do this. How the hell would he expect us to work for him if he's doing this? And that IS what he wanted us to do in the first place, which is why he came over earlier. I'm not saying your superstitions aren't well supported, it just seems unlikely to me."  
Mark paused, allowing a momentary lull in the conversation. "So...what are you doing tonight? Do you just wanna hang out here, or do you have to leave?" Mark was debating if he even wanted to be home when Roger got here, but at the same time he didn't want to leave Mimi in her state. If Maureen wanted to stay, they'd stay, if she wanted to leave, he'd go out with her. Some fresh air MIGHT do him some good. Slow down his temper.

Maureen shifted on the couch, letting the subject of Benny drop for the moment. "Well, I am going a little stir crazy just sitting here. Do you think Mimi will be alright if we did go out?"

Mark really liked the "we" in that sentence.

"Yeah, she should be fine. I mean, she's been like this before we even met, so I'm sure she knows how to take care of herself. Besides, if Roger gets in, I don't want to get in the middle of that, you know?" Mark was saying all of this to convince himself as much as Maureen. "Where did you want to go?

Maureen considered their possibilities. "Well, let's see. We could go see a movie...or sneak into a movie, seeing as I don't think either of us has major funds right now. Oh, this new club opened a few blocks away too and I've been meaning to check it out. So, I guess it all depends on if you want a relatively quiet night or a night of loud to the point of obnoxious music and drinking."

"I've had enough for loud," Mark said. Truth be told, he really didn't want to be in the middle of a crowded room with strangers while music played WAY to loud. He'd rather do something simple. "I'm all up for movie sneaking if you are. Did you have anything in mind?"  
Wow, Mark thought. It had been ages since he and Maureen have been out like that. It would be nice to just spend some time together. As friends, since nothing more can be had of it. But a night out wouldn't be so bad. "And I wouldn't mind the drinking part. After the show we could just go somewhere and get a drink?" he suggested.

"Well, let's see what's playing." Maureen grinned at him. "I guess it would be stupid to ask if you guys had a newspaper."

Mark smiled, but shook his head. "No, not at all. We HAD a newspaper. Needless to day, we don't HAVE a newspaper anymore. It's been burned a long time ago. We could just left wing it: see what's playing when we get to the theater if you want."  
Mark didn't really care. Any time was good time as far as he was concerned.

"Good idea!" Maureen jumped off the couch, her bubbly disposition returning. "Let's go!" She was hit by a sudden rush of adrenaline. She needed to be out doing something. Maureen grabbed Mark's hand and hauled him off the couch, pulling him towards the door.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Mark said as he was yanked off the couch. "But give me one second…" He grabbed his wallet, putting it in his pocket. There wasn't a lot of money, but enough for the moment. He walked over to Mimi's-room/Rogers-possibly-ex-room and talked next to the door.  
"Mimi? Maureen and I are going out for a while." He said. He hoped that Mimi heard him. He walked back over and took Maureen's hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said, walking over to the door and holding it open.  
He really didn't want to be there when Roger got home. IF Roger came home tonight. He didn't want to deal with that fight and wanted to postpone it as long as humanly possible. In the mean time, he would just avoid Roger for today—hopefully he'll cool off a bit so that tomorrow he might be able to be spoken to. Mark held the door open for Maureen.

"Why thank you, kind sir." Maureen giggled, doing her best Scarlett O'Hara impression. As she stepped out the door into the dim hallway, Joanne briefly crossed her mind. But, as quickly as she was thought of, Maureen made sure to push the thoughts away. If Joanne had wanted to make up, she would be there with Maureen. Instead, Maureen glanced over at Mark and smiled mischievously. She had a feeling that the night was going to be fun.

"You're welcome, m'lady." Mark said, smiling back at her. They walked down the stairs and on to the street, heading toward the movie theater.  
"Let's see something light. I don't really feel like a drama or anything. I've got enough of that today. You can pick out the movie."  
Mark regretted saying it almost the minute he did. "You pick out the movie" almost promised him a chick-flick. Oh well, can't take it back now. And besides, he didn't have to _study_ the film, so he could just zone out at the really boring parts.

Maureen's eyes sparkled as she looked over the movie titles and times on the sign in front of her. "Oh, I really wanted to se Great Expectations! Oh, and Dangerous Beauty! But let's see, a light comedy...What about the Wedding Singer?" Maureen seemed very much the part of a kid in a candy store.

"That sounds good," Mark said. He thought it wasn't that bad of a choice for a movie, considreing all the other options that were out there. At least he might actually be able to watch it. If there was anything he couldn't stand, it was a chick flick.  
They got into the theater and Mark covered the tickets. They headed in. "So, do you want anything?"

"Popcorn!" Maureen exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll get it." She added quickly. As much as she would have liked to just let Mark pick up the tab, that was going much too far into "seems like a date" territory than she was willing to go. She walked over to the counter and ordered.

Mark, however, paid for it before she did. The kid behind the counter thought they were going on a date, but Mark ignored him. Let him think what he wants to. Once they got everything, they went into the theater.  
"How about we sit all the way at the top? Those were always my favorite seats," Mark said. It was true, even as a kid he loved sitting way up at the top; it always felt like he was looking over everyone else. It was the best place to be for him.

"Okay," Maureen responded, following him up to the top. Her answer surprised even herself. The whole time they had been dating, Maureen always had insisted on sitting right up front. Once, she had even made Mark ask a couple to move. They settled into their seats. "This is a lot of fun, Mark." Maureen said, just as the lights went down and the previews came onto the screen.

"Well, yeah," Mark said, grinning. "This is film, after all." He watched as preview after preview went up. He wanted to talk with her or at her or whatever, but at the same time you have to be quiet when you're watching a movie. He was tempted to again pull a "we're dating": hold her hand, wrap an arm around her shoulders (or at least the back of the chair she was sitting in), something along those lines.  
But they weren't dating, so he held his own hands in his lap and stared directly forward. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying himself or the film, it's just he kept having the strangest feeling of deja vu'. _Oh well._

"Ditto," Mark said. He knew she knew that, but felt the urge to tell her that. Given that she started it. He grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm here for you, babe." Mark said. He held on enough to be friendly, but let go to let her know he knew his bounds.  
The movie started.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter containseveryone's favorite scene in ages, sowe ask you to enjoy it. Reviews are lovely things.**

**Chapter Six**

Maureen was enjoying the movie, but about half an hour into it she realized that she was much more interested in what was going on next to her and how cute Mark looked when he was engrossed in a film. Taken off-guard by the revelation, she didn't notice that she had stopped paying attention to the movie and was staring at Mark.

Lighting. Direction. Production. That was what was going through Mark's mind. If they would have moved the light just an INCH over...it would have caught her hair better… Mark rubbed the back of his neck. He had the feeling he was being watched.  
He glanced at Maureen and saw her looking at him. He smiled at her and took her hand again. He meant nothing by it. Or did he? Mark sure as hell didn't know. He leaned toward her.  
"You know something? If Drew Whatsherfinger had dark hair, she would have looked better in this movie. Like yours," he said. He meant as a compliment, and as a fact. A dark-haired girl would have done better.

Maureen was pleased, not only by Mark's compliment to her but by the fact that she could still make him blush. She felt special with him beside her, holding her hand. Mark turned his attention back to the film, but he could feel the back of his neck and ears turning red knowing that Maureen was staring at him. He pretended he didn't notice, and since it was dark in here maybe she wouldn't see it. Maybe…he meant more to her than she let on. Not like they were getting back together or anything, but it's just nice to know that she cared once/still did.  
The film progressed, and Mark found that he had to physically remove his hand from hers. He had to think about it too; it was a step process: (1) Let go (the first step is always the hardest). (2) Set hand in lap. He had to do it that way because he didn't want to let go.

Maureen felt her smile falter a bit when he pulled his hand away. The cold air of the theater hit her once warm hand and made her shiver. Why did she suddenly feel so cold? She reached over and took Mark's hand again, longing for that warm feeling to return. _Alright, then. _Mark took her hand again in his own and smiled despite himself. The movie hit the end credits and he stretched.  
"So, did you like that movie?" he asked, taking her hand again. "You picked it out, after all."  
Mark was struck with the strongest (and strangest) urge to kiss her right there. Just to do it; no commitment, no hidden meaning, just a kiss. What would it hurt? Well, the fact that she was his EX-girlfriend should have been a neon sign right there that she was hands off, but reasonably, he could say she kissed him first. It was a year ago, so that really didn't hold much water, but it was the point, isn't it? Besides, he wouldn't _mean_ anything by it, so it wouldn't be like he was trying to steal her back or something. And he needed something to get my mind off of the fact that Roger thought he was cheating with Mimi...  
Mark was momentarily lost in this train of thought, whatever Maureen said not computing; just seeing her mouth moving was all he could focus on.

Maureen smiled, "I liked the movie a lot. You know, I've never really liked Adam Sandler but I thought it was cute." Truth be told, Maureen hadn't paid much attention to the movie. "What do you think?" That was when she noticed Mark had that far-off look in his eyes that he always got when he was deep in thought. Maureen moved closer to him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Mark? Hello, Earth to Mark!"

"Reporting," he said and smiled. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" He was still holding her hand, but that was fine. The clean-up guy was giving them a weird look, but who cared? They paid to be in here, they were staying. "I thought it was okay--a bunch of things I would have changed, though." Mark said, assuming the question.

Maureen gave his hand a squeeze. This was...nice. Odd, yes—but nice. "I don't know about you, but I'm about ready for that drink now."

"Yeah, that sounds good." They got up, and walked out of the theater together, the clean-up guy shooting them a "thank God!" look as they left, because now he could actually do his job.  
They walked towards the door, and he held it open for her.

Maureen walked through the door out into the cold night air. She shivered a little bit as she walked in the direction she knew the nearest bar was. "Do you think Roger ever went back to the loft?"

If anything could kill Mark's momentary bliss, it was the reminder of Roger and his accusations. He had still beencontemplating kissing Maureen, but that sudden reminder had driven that thought from his mind. Mark sighed, a little annoyed that it was brought up again. He was hoping to avoid talking about that at all costs, but since Maureen mentioned it, hecouldn't just ignore the topic all together.  
"I don't know," he said after a moment. "And right now I don't care. Let him do what he's going to do; I'll deal with him and his issues later." He opened the door the bar once they got to it. "I really don't know what's gotten into him lately."

Maureen bit back a particularly nasty comment about Benny she was dying to make and instead just shrugged. "I don't know," she replied, sliding onto a bar stool. She glanced around the bar. "Hey, didn't we get kicked out of here once?"

Mark looked around. "No, that was a different place." He sat down next to her. He ordered something with no booze in it--the last thing he needed was to get drunk and then deal with a violently angry Roger. He sighed.  
"So, how's life with you and Joanne?" he asked conversationally, trying to get the topic off of Roger and Mimi.

Maureen sighed, "What life? She's always too busy with work to pay attention to me. I don't even know if we're still together, after that fight we had earlier." She sent a flirtatious look at the bartender before she turned her face into a pout and said loudly, "I wish I could get an apple martini, but I don't have any cash on me." A few seconds later, there was an apple martini sitting on the bar in front of her and she turned back to Mark. "She doesn't trust me, anyway. Anytime I even look at another girl, she gets all pissy."

_I wish I had that problem,_ Mark thought.  
"Sorry to hear the love shack's not doing so hot." he said. He hoped it sounded sincere. Really, he wanted Maureen to be happy. With him would be nice, but otherwise would have to do. As long as she's happy. However, he and Joanne had had this talk before: Maureen was not trustable. What can you do?  
"Well, still single." Mark said, as if that wasn't obvious. He wasn't trying to hint anything to Maureen, but she more than likely took it as such. He was just trying to end that void hanging. Okay, so maybe their love life wasn't the BEST turn-around of a conversation starter. He took a drink of water.

For a brief moment, Maureen's ever-constant guard was down. "I just wish that she would believe I've changed. Because I really have been trying...well, except for tonight when I was trying to make her jealous, but that doesn't count. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, Mark."

"For you I would say don't try to make her jealous. If you do that, she'll think you're up to the same old games again. Not that I know much on the topic, but that's my advice for you. And don't tell me how much you've changed, tell her. She's the one that needs to hear it. Trust me honey, for someone on the other end of your relationship: We LIKE to hear that kind of thing." Or at least, I did. "I know you don't mean to hurt anyone, baby, I know that. But sometimes we don't mean for things to happen and they do anyway."

And quickly the wall between Maureen and the outside world was back up. "We need to find you a nice girl, Marky. I mean, really, you aren't a bad catch."

"Screw nice girls. You were a nice girl, and look where that got me," Mark hoped he didn't sound bitter, but it was a true fact. "Besides, 'nice girls' are no fun." I shot her a small smile, so she could see I wasn't angry with her.  
He let the silence fall for a moment before he turned to her.  
"Maureen, I really just want to know: why?"

Maureen looked at Mark closely. She never realized how much she had hurt him. But she was confused. "Why what?"

"Why did you leave?" Mark finished the rest of the sentence. He thought it was perfectly clear what he was asking. "I'm not going to get all depressed or anything, I'm just wondering (in all seriousness) why you left. I mean, you cheated on me TONS of times before--don't give me that look, I know you have. But why did you leave actually?"  
He'd wanted to know for a while why. What made that last time so different?

Maureen looked away from him. She couldn't look him in the eyes and tell him. In fact, as she pondered his question, she didn't know what the answer was. Why had she left Mark? Why had she cheated on him time and time again? Why had she hurt him so badly when there was a time that she actually thought...And suddenly it dawned on her. "I was afraid." Maureen finally looked back up at him. "I know, it's a cliché answer. But it's the truth." And Maureen knew it was. Maureen Johnson was afraid of love. Her father and her mother had been in love, but that didn't stop him from running off with his secretary. Her sister and her brother-in-law were in love, but that didn't stop him from becoming an abusive alcoholic. "I had to hurt you before you could hurt me."

That hurt Mark more than the fact that she had left him. Mark cupped Maureen's cheek gently in his hand.  
"Maureen, look at me." he said. "I would never, EVER hurt you. You know that. I would do anything to protect you." He looked at her. That overwhelming urge to kiss her came up again. This time, he didn't waste time.  
Mark kissed her. "I love you still, Maureen. I just want you to be happy. Even if--" Mark had to force these next words out: they were true, but he didn't like them. "Even if it IS with Joanne." He returned his attention back to his water glass. She honestly believed that he would hurt her? What was she, nuts?

Maureen sat on her barstool, almost in a state of shock. Mark had kissed her. Not only that, but she had wanted him to. She knew that Mark was telling her the truth when he said he wouldn't hurt her. She had always known that, deep down. She just never let herself believe it. Mark had never hurt her, even when she had broken his heart. She didn't know what caused her next action, whether it was her heart or the several martinis she had downed since they arrived at the bar or a combination of the two, but before she realized what was happening Maureen had leaned forward and kissed Mark again.

Mark let her.  
_I'm dreaming this, I've got to be dreaming this… _he thought. He pulled away from her and shook his head.  
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. He still wanted Maureen to come crawling back to him, but if she was still dating Joanne...  
"Nothing is going to happen if you are still dating Joanne, Maureen," he said. "You know I'm not a cheater." He sighed. "It's not that I don't want you, because you know I do, but it's not right. If you're dating Joanne, then you're dating Joanne, and that's that." He hoped against hope that he sounded final, but he knew he probably didn't. He didn't want push to lead to shove and do something he ended up regretting.

Much to her own horror, Maureen began to cry- big alligator tears falling from her eyes. She was near hysterics, earning quite a few stares from other patrons of the bar. "Oh god, Mark, what am I doing? I'm a horrible girlfriend! I don't even know if I'm still with Joanne and here I am...I'm so sorry Mark." Maureen tried to stop the tears from falling- she hated crying, especially in front of other people. But her bottled up emotions were too big a match for her. So, she did one of the things she was good at. She got up and ran from the bar.

"SHIT!" Mark swore loudly. Everyone was staring at him like HE had made her cry. "I didn't do it!" he said stupidly before bolting after Maureen.  
"HEY! Are you going to pay for that?" the bartender asked.  
"It was glass of water! Bill me at my funeral!" Mark snapped back before following Maureen out into the street. He caught up with her relatively quickly and took her arm lightly.  
"Maureen..." he said. Mark personally did not believe that male chivalry was dead. He was the kind of guy that held open doors for girls (or slammed them in their faces), pulled out chairs, that sort of thing. If there was one thing Mark did not like, it was a woman crying. Almost naturally, Mark pulled Maureen in his arms.  
"Don't cry honey, please don't cry." he said, rocking her to try to calm her down. He wondered if she could hear his heart beating, but scratched that off as it didn't matter. "Look, I'm right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere, just calm down. It's just me, you don't have anything to be ashamed of."

Maureen weakly tried to pull away from him but eventually just buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mark. I'm so sorry." She just kept saying it, over and over. She was sorry for hurting him, for hurting Joanne, for every time she'd made them wait up for her when she was out cheating. Finally, the tears subsided and left Maureen breathing heavily. She pulled away slightly, enough to look at Mark but not so far as to really pull away from him. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, sure that she had trails of mascara running down her cheeks. "Jesus, I must look great," she said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

Mark just held her still. He didn't really want to let her go (literally and figuratively), but he knew he had to. Eventually. But not right now.  
"Actually, I think you do," Mark said honestly. "I mean, minus your make-up smearing and everything." He took his hand and wiped her cheek. "I've seen you look much worse." He just took all of her in. He locked this in his mind like a film-still. He didn't want to lose it.  
"Well, you know you can always come back to my place," he said. "If you don't want go back home. I'm not going to kick you out." It wasn't an offer for sex, but of companionship. Not of an affair, but of an intimate friendship.  
Though Mark wouldn't say no to sex. Okay, so he would. If Maureen was with someone else, anyway.

Maureen nodded, collecting herself. "I think I will. I mean, Joanne kicked me out this morning anyway. I thought she would have taken it back by now but...well, I haven't heard from her since the Life and we weren't on the best terms then." Now that Maureen had expressed her regret and sorrow, a new feeling was taking over that Maureen was quite familiar with. Anger. She was angry at Joanne for their fight earlier, she was angry at Benny for being an insufferable asshole, she was angry at Roger for jumping to conclusions, she was angry at Mimi for going back to the drug dealer and she was angry at herself for so many things. But not Mark. Maureen could never become really angry with Mark. She shivered, the night air becoming colder. "Let's head back to the loft. This night air is doing nothing for my complexion." She began walking, but paused for a moment to turn and look at Mark. "Mark...thanks."

"For what?" Mark asked, walking in stride with her. He noticed her shivering, but remembered he left his scarf at the house. If he hadn't he would have offered it to her. Oh well. He took her hand in his to slow down her pace before she took off. Mark had seen Maureen like this: trying to keep something inside and sometimes literally running away.  
"I didn't do anything," Mark said, trying to keep the conversation light. "Except get us kicked out of another bar," he added lightly.

Maureen smiled a little bit. "Well, we both knew that it was bound to happen at some point. I mean, how many bars are we actually allowed back into?" She thought for a moment before glancing at him with a mischievous look on her face. "I mean, the only reason we haven't been kicked out of the Life is because of your loverboy waiter."

"That's ruling out the fact that the people that own the place are just cool people," I said. "Steve loves me...isn't it sick?" Mark said with a grin. "I swear, if I confessed my undying love to him, he'd marry me."  
He held open the door. Once they got into the loft, he looked and found no sign of Roger. All the better at the moment.

"Hold on a sec," Mark said, going into his room. He pulled out one of the two blankets on his bed and a pillow. He came out and set them on the couch. "You know how it goes. You can sleep in my room," he said, pointing toward the door. He looked at the couch. Floor might be better, but all the difference that would make. He wasn't going to let Maureen sleep out here. He'd be fine with sharing his bed with her, but that would look so bad, and considering he was on the outs with his best friend for being a "cheater," that would just add to the flare.

Mimi was in a half-sleep. She'd found that the drugs were keeping her up more than she wanted them to. And she was lonely. And being really upset, livid and lonely wasn't a good combination for her right now.  
She hadn't heard Roger come home, and a part of her was getting worried. He hadn't been back on drugs for at least a year and God only knows what they'd end up doing to him and how he'd react. A knot formed in her stomach and suddenly a wave of regret, yes, regret, swept over her. She shouldn't have flipped out on him. She just shouldn't have. She should have been sensible and she should have talked it out with him, but she didn't. Instead she had let her hot-headedness get in the way and she had driven him away even farther than he already was.  
She heard the door open with a loud squeak and then some footsteps in the hallway. Mimi slowly sat up, feeling slightly lightheaded. Making her way to the door, silently hoped that it was Roger who was coming home, she peeked her head out and saw Mark and Maureen. That was a little odd. She slowly came out of her room, gripping onto the walls as she made her way towards the two.

"Hey guys,"she said before allowing herself to fall against the wall. "No sign of Roger, huh?" Mimi tried to hide the concern in her voice, but it didn't seem to work. She noticed the blanket in Mark's hand and frowned a little before looking at Maureen.  
Maureen smiled a little when she saw Mimi. "Hey. No, I don't think he's back yet." Maureen could tell that Mimi was getting worried and she wanted to say something that might help, but Maureen had never been one to know what words might be comforting in this sort of situation.  
"You spending the night?" Mimi asked Maureen.

"Yeah, I needed someplace to stay for the night." Maureen didn't elaborate on it. God knows Mimi had enough on her plate at the moment; she didn't need to hear about Maureen's issues with Joanne.

Mimi nodded a little.  
"Well, you can take my bed. I'm going to find Roger."  
Mimi pushed herself from the wall and made her way over to a chair where she had thrown her coat. She pulled it on and searched around for her scarf.

"Mimi, you're not going anywhere," Mark said. She didn't look like she could walk, let alone actually look for anything. "You don't look so good. You crash. I'll hunt for Roger. You get some sleep. Everything will be fine."  
He didn't want to, but now he was bound by his word to do so. He just didn't know when he was going to go looking for him. Maybe he would spend a bit of time tonight, but nothing too extensive. He'd try all of Roger's old run-away spots, including up in Scarsdale.  
He noticed Mimi looking around. He instinctively reached for his scarf. It wasn't around his neck; he saw it by the door. "If you're cold, you can just wear my scarf," he said, gesturing. He turned and looked back at Maureen.  
"Go crash in my room if you're tired, honey," he said to her. "Not much has changed since you've last been in there." Which was true.

Mimi couldn't really argue with Mark on that one. She wasn't exactly in the best of conditions to be trying to find anyone. She'd probably end up collapsing in some alley and spending the night there.  
She went over to the window and sat down on the ledge, propping herself up against the wall. She knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep, so if she at least was on Roger-watch from the window it would make her feel a little better.  
"Oh Mark," she remembered as she glanced at the answering machine. "That Buzzline chick called for you again."

Mark looked at the machine and saw the light flashing.

* * *

Alexi Darling sat on a poufy stool in the dressing room of her second-rate tabloid show, Buzzline, having been slathered in makeup. Her black hair was in a ridiculous new style, her well-manicured nails poised at the ready on a sleek cell phone. She squinted through copious amounts of mascara at the slip of paper in her hand and punched in the telephone number on it. She held the phone to her ear and waited as it rang itself out.  
"Speeeak..." said the two men on the answering machine.  
_He hasn't changed his awful machine yet?_ Alexi wondered in the split second before the beep. She spoke in an unbelievably annoying uptalk.  
"Mark COhen? Alexi DARling from BUZZline. We've got big PLAAns to improve the SHOWw, kerchingkerCHIing, and we need CAMeras, I was at the screening of your MOvie, A-Oone, we LOVed it here at BUZZline, I'll be in the AREa a WEEK from now, give me a CAll and we can set up a MEEting, or you can E-mail me darlingaLEXi NEWscom DOT net, and here are the PHONE numbers..."  
She rattled off all her various phone numbers. "And be sure to call me BAack, don't want to miss an opporTUNity, knock-KNOock, kerchingkerCHIing..." She clicked the phone shut. And he'd better call back, too, she thought. Who could refuse an offer with that many kerchingkerCHIings?

* * *

Mark sighed.  
"I told her I quit. She doesn't get it, does she?" But he made a mental note to call her back. Eventually.

"Maureen, night," he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. A "just friends" type of thing. He gave Mimi a hug.  
"Don't worry, Mims. We'll find him," he said. He sighed and headed toward the door. Marl really didn't want to talk to Roger right now, but if it would bring peace to the group, then he was more than willing to do so.

"Anything else anybody needs before I head out?"

Mimi silently shook her head as she returned her gaze back to the street. The only thing she needed right now was to know that Roger was okay. Even if he was still mad at her, she just wanted to know that he'd survived...

Maureen shook her head too. Part of her wanted to tell Mark that she'd go out with him, but she knew that things weren't going to be all hunky-dory between Mark and Roger when Mark finally found him. She would just get in the way. The other part of her was surprised at herself for being so...well, almost level-headed. Maybe she really was changing. "Good luck, Mark."

"Thanks," Mark said before heading out the door. He stopped and sighed. Okay, Roger's old run-away places...


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The first thing Mark did was hit a payphone. It was late by this point, but he didn't care. The phone rang, and his mother answered. Mark made her get up and look around the house (namely in Mark's old room) and see if Roger came by, or if Roger had talked to her in anyway. Nope, he wasn't there. Mark thanked her and hung up.  
He walked up to the CBGB's and looked there. Nothing. He went to the Pyramid club. Nothing there either. No sign of him at the Cat Scratch, or back at the Life. Mark went to Roger's old haunts when he and April were still dating, doubting he'd be there, and coming up empty handed. He saw the man—Jerry, Mimi had said once? who said he'd seen him. That was the best news he heard all night. The man continued to tell him that he left with some black person. Mark thanked him and started thinking of who Roger could have left with. And what was he doing with the man? Hopefully nothing.  
"Damn, how long have I been doing this?" he wondered when he saw the sky lighten as the sun started coming up. He was tired, but needed to find Roger. Finally, he called Collins. Nothing there. Roger obviously wasn't with Joanne, so that left Benny.  
Mark called Benny's house. He was angry that Roger couldn't be found very easily, but still found himself getting nervous about what he would do if Roger wasn't at Benny's.

Benny's eyes fluttered opened as he heard the phone ring. He groggily rolled over and looked at the clock. 5:43.  
He groped for the phone on the nightstand before picking it up.  
"Hello?" he said, sleep still etched in his voice.

"Benny, it's Mark." he said bluntly. "Please, for the love of God, tell me you know where Roger is. I've looked EVERYWHERE and all I know is he went somewhere with a black guy." Mark reeled this off quickly out of concern and exhaustion.

"Huh?" Benny said, Mark's words not sinking in at first. "Oh, Roger. Yeah, he's over here," Benny replied before running his hand over his face.

"He is?" Mark was relieved. "Can--" He was going to say "Can I talk to him?" but then realized what a not-so-good idea that would be.  
"Well, could you take him home in a little while?" Mark asked. "Because we kind of miss him at home." After he hung up the phone, Mark headed home, damn near collapsing on the way there. He somehow made it up the stairs to the top floor.

Benny just stared at the phone for a minute before hanging up. It was almost 6 in the morning. If they could wait this long, they could wait a little bit longer.  
Benny's head hit the pillow and he was out like a light once again.  
"Roger's fine," Mark said to who ever was in the apartment. He was so glazed over and tired, he didn't know if anyone was there, much less if they cared. He stumbled over to the couch and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the lumpy cushion.

Mimi had fallen asleep at the window but the door woke her up.  
She smiled a little at Mark's words, expecting to see Roger walk through the door in a few seconds. But he didn't. She sighed before getting up and grabbing the blanket Mark had brought out earlier. She draped it across him before heading back into her room and collapsing on the bed, sleep overcoming her within seconds.

Benny rolled over with a yawn and looked at the clock. 8:15. Wonderful. He looked at Allison, who was still asleep, and quietly got out of bed. He figured he should probably get Roger the hell out of here before she woke up. She would have a fit if she knew he was still hanging around "those people."  
Benny rolled out of bed and stretched a little before jumping in the shower. He washed up quickly before pulling on a pair of khakis and a polo shirt. Then he walked out into the living room and tapped Roger on the leg.

"C'mon buddy. Time to get you home."

The sun was attacking. Maureen had been in the middle of a great dream when the bright, happy sunlight began streaming in the window, assaulting her closed eyelids. She tried rolling over, hiding under the blankets and pulling a pillow over her head, but it was no use. She was awake now and there was nothing to be done about it. Mark, meanwhile, was completely unconscious on the couch. "Damn it, Mark. We need to buy you curtains," she told his almost-dead form. Not like Maureen intended on spending many more mornings waking up in Mark's bedroom...Lazily, she stretched and sat up, pulling herself out of Mark's bed. She subconsciously tugged at the end of Mark's t-shirt she had used as a nightgown and wandered out into the main room of the loft. She needed coffee.

Mimi rolled over as the sun poured in on her. She didn't want to wake up but did anyway. She needed to prepare herself for the battle that was sure to ensue once Roger got home.  
_I wonder where he is..._ Mimi thought to herself.  
She grabbed her Japanese style robe and pulled it around her tiny body, stretched a little and walked out into the main room. She saw Mark still knocked out on the couch and smiled a little before seeing Maureen.  
"Morning girl," she said, perching herself on top of the steel table. "Mark found Roger... he's... just not here."

Mark looked so cute while he was sleeping… Maureen looked away from the camera man and smiled at Mimi when she came in, "Good. Where was he?" Maureen poked through the cabinets until she came upon a small can with whatever was left of the coffee in it and proceeded to make it. She sat down with two mugs and handed one to Mimi.

Mimi frowned a little.  
"Mark never told me," she said matter-of-factly.  
She got down off the table and went over to Mark. She knelt down next to him.  
"Mark... wake up babe, come on," she slapped him lightly on the cheek a couple times. "Where's Roger?"

Roger muttered something as he stirred awake.  
It took him a moment to figure out where he was and another to remember just why he was there. Roger gave a soft groan and sat up.  
He looked to Benny, rubbing his eyes only slightly before they came into focus. "I s'pose now is the best time over any..." he muttered. Roger didn't really wish to stick around when Alison woke up anyway. Seeing Benny's wife always put him in a bad mood. He didn't want to be that way when he spoke to Mark and Mimi.

Benny nodded a little. He went into the kitchen as Roger got himself situated and left Alison a note.

_Alison--  
Had to take care of some business with the investors. Don't worry about dinner-- I'll bring something home.  
Benny_

He came back out and silently led the way downstairs and out the door to his Range Rover.  
The ride to Roger's building was silent. Roger was still half asleep and Benny was stuck in his head, evaluating and re-evaluating his life. He feared he'd made a big mistake doing this, just as he had when he was trying to convince Roger that he and Mimi still had something... even though they did. But this time, it seemed a little too drastic. This time, Benny actually regretted it.  
He slowly pulled up outside the building and put his Range Rover in park.  
"Well, here we are," he said with a sigh. "You gonna be okay?"

It was now or never for Roger.  
"Yeah..I'll be fine..." Roger replied. Physically, he'd be able to make it upstairs to the loft. Emotionally? Well, he wasn't so sure.  
He took a deep breath and got out of the car.

"Alright man," Benny said before shifting his vehicle back into drive. "Good luck."  
With that, he drove away from the east village.

Mark jumped as soon as Mimi touched him. He wasn't usually a very light sleeper, but at the moment he was worried about Roger.  
"What?" He said, looking around before seeing Mimi. _Why didn't I take off my glasses?_ he wondered. He shook it off. That wasn't really an important thought. "Oh, Roger was at Benny's. I made Benny swear to bring Roger back ASAP, so he should be here soon, I reckon." Mark yawned and stretched. His hair was everywhere from having slept so hard on it and his clothes were all wrinkled; he didn't care. He looked over into the kitchen and saw Maureen standing there in his clothes. That was actually kinda sexy...  
No, bad Mark. No thoughts about the ex.

Maureen caught Mark staring at her and gave him a flirtatious smile. Then she headed back into his room to get changed. Maureen had to go apartment hunting and it wouldn't help if she got distracted by Mark.

"Benny's? What the fuck is he doing at _Benny's_?" Mimi asked. It's not like they'd exactly made up over what happened so this just didn't make sense to her.  
She went back over to the window with a sigh and saw Benny's range rover pull up outside the building.  
"Well, he's here..." she announced, more to herself than to anyone else. She swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths. She needed to keep herself in control if she wanted to get this all back to normal and everything to work out.  
She hoped with everything in her heart that he would come in, pick her up in his arms and apologize for how stupid he had acted. But she knew it wasn't going to happen.   
A lump formed in her throat but she swallowed again, making it stay down. She wasn't going to cry. She was just going to make sure that Roger knew nothing was happening. And she would stop at nothing to make sure that happened.

As Benny drove off, Roger stood at the entrance to his building for a moment. He then took another deep breath and entered, making his way slowly up the stairs.  
Once he reached the door to the loft, Roger hesitated once more.  
Taking another deep breath and telling himself he would _not_ blow up at Mark or Mimi as soon as he saw them, he slowly opened the door.

"Roger!" Mark said. To be honest, he wasn't really that surprised, but more or less shocked. Then again, he was having an internal conflict at the moment: He still wasn't sure if he wanted to see Roger now. Sure, on the one hand he was worried sick about his friend, but now that he was alright, he wasn't sure he wanted to talk to him. The insult of yesterday had hit such a low blow that he didn't know if he wanted to be the one that started the conversation or the one who ended it.  
So he played it safe. He didn't say anything. He was so tempted to look at Mimi to see how she was going to react, but didn't want to spare the glance in the slight chance that it would look strange. So he settled on staring at something...he wasn't quiet sure what to look at, but once he found something, he would stare at it. And he did: Maureen. At least it was a pretty view.

Maureen could feel Mark's eyes still burning into her. It was a rather uncomfortable sensation, but not one that Maureen was so unfamiliar with. She had been dealing with stares since she was twelve years old and her figure began to develop. But what made this stare so uncomfortable was the weight behind it. She needed to get out of there. This was between Mark, Roger and Mimi. They didn't need Maureen there, interjecting comments. So, with Mark's stare still on her, she quickly stood and slipped out the front door so as not to interrupt the conversation already begun between Mimi and Roger. Once in the rundown hallway, Maureen realized that she didn't know where to go next. So she just started walking.

Mimi found it hard to turn from the window to face Roger. She had tears welling in her eyes for reasons she couldn't quite come up with. She bit her lip and turned around slowly, her eyes gazing at the floor before eventually making their way up to look at Roger. But as quickly as she looked at him, she looked away. She hated feeling like this, so trapped. She didn't know what to say because she knew nothing would make the situation better if Roger wasn't willing to try to change it and listen to what they had to say. And the blank expression on his face left his thoughts to anyone's guess.  
She had the urge to run into his arms, to apologize for something that wasn't her fault, but she restrained herself, and instead walked up a few steps closer. The tension was palpable and uncomfortable. Mimi took a strand of her hair in her finger and twisted it before finally deciding to take the first step.  
"We... we missed you," she struggled to say. "How're you feeling?"

Damn, Mimi had courage. Now Mark felt like a coward. He found, however, that he couldn't say anything when he tried to. Not that he knew what he would have said.  
"Yeah," he said lamely to what Mimi said. That sounded wonderful, didn't it?

"Maureen," he said. She was gone. As much as he wanted to figure all of this out, he didn't want to be there when these two went at it for one, and for two he didn't want Maureen to leave with the wrong impression. And he needed her support right now.  
"Maureen, wait!" he said, bolting out the door after her. He caught her at the bottom of the stairs. "Maureen, please. Come back up here? I want to talk to you," He said. He was already formulating what he was going to say in his mind. She really had no business here, especially right now, but after what had happened last night, he just wanted her there. Damn it, he was falling in love with her again, and that would cause problems, but right now he had immediate problems to take care of. "Please?" Maureen froze when she heard Mark call to her. Mark wanted her there? But why? She glanced towards the front door and then back up the stairs towards the loft. The freedom of the outside was tempting, but Mark wouldn't have asked her to stay if he didn't really want, or need, her to be there. Hesitantly she began the trek back up the stairs and slipped back through the door of the loft. If Mark wanted her to stay, she would stay. But she was determined to keep her mouth shut.  
Mark looked back at the door. He needed to get back in there and confront Roger. "Just come inside!" he called down the stairs before coming in again. He left the door open, and was now facing Roger.  
"We're glad your back, Roge," he said. He was trying to direct the conversation to the obvious without the fight happening. Naturally, that's not the way it would work, but something had to be done. "Um...Maureen stayed the night last night. I was out here on the couch." Mark gestured toward the door which Maureen just left from. As if that clarified something that (a) didn't need to be clarified and (b) wasn't asked about. But at least it was conversation.

Mimi's heart had dropped when Mark left. She needed a rock there, and since Roger was on the opposite side, Mark was the next best thing. She didn't feel like fighting, but knew that if he left that's what would ensue.  
Luckily for her, he came back in and began an awkward conversation with Roger.  
"I slept in my bed. Well, actually I fell asleep at the window when Mark went looking for you. I was going to but I wasn't feeling too hot so Mark went." She was trying to be encouraging and caring, and trying to show that she was willing to be civil. "Then when Mark got back I went to bed. Because he woke me up when he came in." Just as quickly as she felt this was going well, she felt like it was going to shit again.  
Mimi paused before a flood of emotions overcame her that no longer could be contained.  
"Roger, I have no idea where this all came from but there is _nothing_ going on between Mark and I. I love you, baby, and only you. No one else. I can't even imagine myself without you. I know we've gone through shit before, and I know I've done things before that probably shouldn't make you trust me, but I swear to you there is nothing going on between us. I just... I don't know what I can say to make you believe me."  
Mimi felt defeated. Roger's face still remained blank and his silence was deafening.

"Mimi's right," Mark said at last. How do you prove you're _not _doing something. There's no evidence, precisely because you're not doing it. "There is nothing going on between us. We're friends, Roger, and you know that. You should know that I wouldn't do that to you." He was going to add Mimi's name, but remembered she did do that to him, so he changed directions. "Look, you're just going to have to trust us about this. There's nothing going on and there won't be."  
Just then Maureen came back into the loft. Mark felt suddenly relieved. He took her hand lightly. "I wanna talk to you, okay? Can you just wait until we figure this out?" Mark said quietly so only Maureen could hear him. He let her go and faced Roger and Mimi again. Damn it. Mimi was crying. If there was one thing Mark couldn't stand, it was a woman crying. He almost naturally went over to Mimi to comfort her, but by the time he got there, he realized what it would look to Roger. So, again, he improvised.  
"See? We don't even make a good couple." he said, standing next to Mimi. He hoped that just by standing by her she would be somehow comforted, since he couldn't give her a hug. God only knows what that would do.

Roger had stayed silent as Mimi spoke. He looked away when she started to cry. Like Mark, he couldn't stand a woman in tears. Especially if that woman was Mimi. He was about to speak when Mark spoke up. He listened to his roommate silently.  
Mimi looked away. She hated to look weak in this situation, but it was clearly tearing her apart inside. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, leaving trails of black from her make-up she wore last night on her cheeks.  
"Please say something," Mimi said quietly to Roger.  
Roger took a deep breath. "I'm going to my room," he told her as calmly as he could.  
Mimi's eyes shifted around the room. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. She bit her top lip as she nodded a little.  
"Okay," she choked out, trying to hold back her tears.  
She walked over to the window and opened it. She grabbed her sweater from the floor where she'd left it the night before and then climbed out the window and up the fire escape to the roof.  
Roger watched Mimi go before heading to his room.

Mark crossed back to Maureen. "This isn't over yet." Mark stated the obvious. "But I do really want to talk to you, and I will before all of this is over." He took both of her hands in his. "I'm sorry you have to see all of this, but I really need someone who will be there for me right now." And Roger won't. Hell, Roger is WHY he needs someone to stand with him right now.

"It's okay Mark. I really don't mind." In fact, all this fighting was driving Maureen crazy. She just couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening. But she figured that it was fate's retribution for all the time's Mark was stuck in the middle of a fight with her and Joanne. That was when Roger burst into the room yelling about excuses and the box of his gifts to Mimi. Maureen watched as Mimi and Mark tried to plead with him and explain.

Once alone, Roger let out a breath of frustration and ran a hand through his hair. First to get out of the day-old clothes he wore. He went over to his dresser and opened a drawer, starting to dig through it. He couldn't find the shirt he was looking for. Unnerved, he silently went over to Mimi's things. She had been known to borrow his shirts and wear them around the loft. As soon as he began digging, Roger noticed that there were a few things of hers that were missing. After he found the shirt he was looking for, Roger continued looking through Mimi's things. As he did so, he began to realize what all was missing. They were his gifts to her...  
Meanwhile, Mimi needed to be alone. She just couldn't handle her emotions right now. She needed a chance to get everything sorted out in her head. She took a seat, leaning against one of the heating units that weren't being used. She pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. A few tears rolled down her cheek but she quickly wiped them away again. Mimi pinched her sleeves around her hands and let the chilling breeze blow through her hair, moving it around like leaves on the street. A knot had formed in her stomach that she had just become aware of; one that she only got when she feared the worst would happen. She didn't get it often, as she usually would go with the flow with out a second thought, but she had recalled having it the night when she knew she would never see her father again, the night where she first had to spend the night on the street alone because she couldn't stand staying with her mother, and the day that she felt would be her last but would leave the world with out having righted the most important relationship with the most important person in her life. Those situations all managed to work themselves out so she hoped that this situation would prove to be like the rest. She gripped her hair within her fingers and brought her forehead down to her knees, taking deep breaths. She couldn't let herself get so upset over something that was out of her control. She did what she could; the ball was in Roger's court now.  
"Mimi."  
Mimi's head snapped up when she heard her name and she practically jumped to her feet, feverishly wiping the tears from her eyes before turning around to face Roger. She pulled her sweater tight around her. She didn't speak, but just looked at Roger instead.  
"Where are the gifts I gave you?" She couldn't have thrown them out. She wouldn't...  
The knot in Mimi's stomach just became gut-wrenchingly tighter. Where _were_ they? She put them outside the door and then when she came out later, they weren't there. Well they couldn't have gotten up and walked away. Mimi closed her eyes a second before slowly allowing them to meet Roger's.  
"I don't know. I put them in a box last night and now they're not there."  
"You don't know?" He took a deep breath. "You didn't throw them out, did you?"  
"No, I didn't throw them out!" Mimi snapped, which she realized wasn't the best idea. She took a deep breath before cautiously taking a couple steps toward her boyfriend. She ran her hands down his arms before taking his hands in hers. "I would never do that no matter how mad I was at you. Look, they're around here somewhere. Maureen probably did something with them."  
Although she knew the case was that _Mark_ probably did something with them, but that wasn't what Roger needed to hear right now.  
"Right..." he said softly. "Maureen probably picked them up so they wouldn't get thrown out..." Roger freed one of his hands and once more ran it through his hair.  
"Roger, I wasn't going to throw them out," Mimi said sternly. "Look. Both of us were mad last night and both of us did some things that we shouldn't have done. But just because we had one bad night, _I'm_ not going to throw this all away and let everything that we've had go to shit. I don't know what you want, but I don't want to give this up." Mimi looked away from Roger quickly while pursing her lips before taking her hand from Roger and sitting down on the vent. "Then again, if you don't trust me and you don't believe me, I guess there's no point, huh?"  
Mimi shifted her gaze to the streets below, watching people scurrying down below her.  
"Mims..." Roger faded off as he turned away as well and moved towards the door of his room. He really wanted to stay together with Mimi. There was nothing he wanted more...  
He sighed, raising his eyes.  
The doorways to Roger and Mark's rooms faced each other and roger could see right into his roommate's room from his own at the present moment.  
That's all he had to say? Mimi couldn't stand it when Roger was guarded like this. She'd poured her heart out to him in the living room and didn't get anything, and now this? Mimi got up off the vent, went down the stairs and climbed through the window.  
"Roger, look I--"  
Mimi noticed him staring at something in Mark's room. She frowned a little and then took a look for herself. She found her box, complete with Mark's scarf on the top.  
"This isn't what it looks like Roger," Mimi said quietly, defeated. Everything just seemed to be getting worse and worse.  
Roger ran out of his room and over to Mark's, his entire mood changed. That had _better_ not have been what it appeared to be. Upon entering Mark's room, Roger threw the scarf aside. A chain of curses followed.  
"Roger," Mimi stormed in after him, her voice pleading. "It's not like I gave the stuff to him. He just... it..."  
Mimi inhaled and exhaled quickly, not finding the right words to complete her sentences.   
"It's not that I wanted to get rid of them. I just... I couldn't look at them last night because I was so angry and... It's not what you think, honestly, it isn't."  
"I'm _sick_ of your excuses!" Roger shot, turning quickly on her.  
Mimi was taken aback by Roger's sudden outburst, but stood her ground regardless.  
"_What_ excuses, Roger! I'm not _making_ any excuses, I'm just telling you the truth!"  
"The truth!" Roger made a sound as if he didn't believe that.  
"Yes, Roger. _The Truth_. But like I said, if you don't want to fucking believe me, if you can't trust me after all the shit we've been through... then I honestly don't think it's even fuckin' worth it anymore," Mimi said, shaking her head, a disgusted look coming across her face. "You spend so much more time accusing me of shit that I'm NOT doing than actually just spending time with me and enjoying what we have."

"Hey, what are you do--" He stopped in his sentence. Oh shit. All of Roger's/Mimi's stuff was still in his room. C'mon, you can't be that small minded that you would honestly think that meant something. IF they were cheating, why would Mimi give HIM that stuff?  
"Roger, chill for a minute, will you?" Mark asked, grabbing one of Roger's wrists as he continued to throw things in his room, to get Roger to face him. "Before you jump off the handle, I want you to listen!" He raised his voice so that Roger would actually hear him. "Listen that stuff isn't what you think it is, alright? And don't yell at her, it's my fault that this stuff is in here in the first place."  
Rule 1) If you're being accused of cheating, don't stick up for the other person in front of the angry ex. It doesn't look so good. But Mark was only trying to ease some of the tension off of Mimi, and the only way to do that is to shoulder the blame himself.

And it was at this point that Maureen decided to open her mouth. "Roger, Mark and I put that stuff there. All Mimi did was put it outside of her door." Though she had this strong urge not to get involved in the fight, Maureen felt she had to set the record straight—at least with the box.

Mark was surprised that Maureen had come to his (and Mimi's) aid. He really did half expect her to sit there and not say anything. That was great that she was ready, willing, and able to help. And at this point, they needed all the help they could get.

"_See_?" Mimi said furiously. "It doesn't mean anything!"  
Mimi was glad that she finally had Mark and Maureen backing her up. She needed some other people there for her because her head just was in a mindless jumble right now. Two seconds ago she wanted to try as hard as she could to keep everything together, but now she was ready to throw it all out the window.  
"Nothing is going on Roger. All last night I was in here by myself. Mark and Maureen were out all night and when they came home, Mark was out looking for you. I saw him for all of maybe 10 minutes last night after we left and the entire 10 minutes was focused around how bizarre this all is! Nothing is going on, no--"  
Mimi started coughing again. She grabbed onto the wall until her knuckles were white, holding herself up with all her strength. This past night and this new argument weren't doing wonders for her illness. After a few minutes, it subsided and she began to take deep breaths.  
"Look," she said quietly, weakly. "I don't know what else to tell you, and I'm not going to try to be going into these coughing fits. This is the fourth one I've had in twelve hours and I can't fucking take it anymore. So when you're ready to act civilized, then you can come and talk to me."  
Mimi turned around, and while gripping at the walls, made her way out the door and down to her loft.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: If you don't appreciate this coming chapter for all that it is, there is no point in your reading any more of this fic. Just a heads up.

* * *

****Chapter Eight**

Four times in twelve hours? Maureen didn't know a lot about AIDS or HIV, except what Collins had told her about it and what she had gathered from being around so many people infected, but even she knew that the situation was getting very bad. "Mimi, wait!" But Mimi was already out the door. Maureen felt torn. She wanted to stay and be there for Mark but she also wanted to make sure that Mimi was all right. She sent a look in Mark's direction, hoping that he understood and would be okay without her there. Then she went to the door, not being able to stop herself from shooting Roger a nasty look as she passed him. What was his problem? Couldn't he see that Mimi was sick? Maureen went down the stairs and knocked on Mimi's door, hoping that was where she went. "Mimi?"

Mimi had just managed to get through the door before allowing herself to fall against the wall and down to the floor. Her breath had become slow and labored and she felt so weak.  
"Come in honey," Mimi said as loud as she could in response to the knock.

Something didn't sound right in Mimi's voice. It was like she was out of breath. Maureen pushed the door open and saw Mimi on the floor against the wall. "Oh god, Mimi, are you okay?" Maureen rushed over and knelt down so she was on the same level.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mimi said as convincingly as she could manage. She forced a smile to her friend. "Just... a little worn out, ya know?"

Maureen was still not completely convinced that Mimi was doing all that well. "Here, let's get you onto the couch. It'll be a lot more comfortable there than the floor." Maureen took hold of Mimi's arm to help her up.

Mimi allowed Maureen to help her up and the two of them made their way over to the couch. Mimi laid her head on the armrest and curled her legs up to her chest. A single tear trickled down her cheek but she wiped it away quickly. She let out a laugh, trying to be strong.  
"I just don't see how this situation has gotten this blown out of proportion. It's almost funny."

"How did this happen, anyway? I mean, Roger is a jealous guy but what prompted this?" Maybe if they figured out what had caused Roger's jealously, they would know what to say to make him realize how ridiculous he was being. A small voice in the back of Maureen's mind was still screaming 'Benny' but she decided not to tell her suspicions to Mimi yet. She was already upset enough. "Do you want a glass of water or anything?"

"Yeah, please," Mimi said in response to Maureen's offer for a glass of water. Then a frustrated look came over her. "I don't even know where this came from. I went to the bathroom and then came out and then he comes out and starts accusing me of shit. It came out of _nowhere_. But he claims that he observes things." A mocking tone came into Mimi's voice.

Maureen went into Mimi's kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet. She should tell Mimi about Benny. No matter what he said, she was so sure he had something to do with it and it wasn't just her personal bias against him. She opened the fridge to get ice, before realizing there was none. Of course, Mimi had been upstairs mostly so why would there be any ice made? She turned on the tap, waiting for it to get cold before filling up the glass and bringing it back to Mimi. She sat down beside her on the couch, "Mimi, I think I know what happened."

"If you can analyze this situation, I would love you forever, Mo," Mimi said before taking a sip of her water. She coughed a little; the cold feeling strange against her dry throat, but then took another sip. "I've been trying to figure out what could've happened within the five seconds I came out into the dining room and him flipping out on me."

Maureen bit her lip, trying to choose her words carefully. She wasn't sure how Mimi would react to her suspicions. "Well, I saw Benny go into the bathroom right before Roger came out and you guys started fighting. And then, when you and Mark stormed out, he was laughing his ass off. And how did Roger end up in Westport last night? Last time I checked, he wasn't Benny's biggest fan. Unless Benny said something to Roger at the Life..." Maureen trailed off. "I don't know. I talked to Mark earlier and he didn't think that Benny would do something like this...but I'm not so sure. I know that I always think Benny is up to something but this time, there's just so much pointing towards him having something to do with this."

Mimi stayed silent for a moment, quietly pondering the new information she was given.  
"I wouldn't put it past him," she mumbled bitterly. "And if he _is_ behind this..."  
An angry look came over Mimi's face as her thoughts raced a mile a minute.

Maureen sighed, relieved that Mimi believed her. She had been beginning to think she was paranoid as well. "Just calm down, honey. At least now you have an idea of what set all this off. Maybe you should try talking to Roger about that."

Mimi shook her head, trying not to explode at Maureen, who didn't deserve it.  
"He'd probably give me shit about how he couldn't believe me about Benny when I told him I wasn't cheating on him before. He won't believe me now. I just don't understand _why_ he would believe Benny over Mark and me. I mean, Mark's his BEST FRIEND, and I'm his girlfriend, and I know I haven't been exactly trustworthy before, but Jesus. Believing Benny of all people over me? That's just low."

"I don't know why he'd believe that lowlife over you, honey. I can't even imagine why. I do know about trying to get that trust back though. It's not an easy or fun thing to do." Maureen gave her friend a sympathetic smile. It would be a whole lot easier if Roger would talk to them. But then, talking things out never really seemed like Roger's strong suit. "I wonder how Mark is doing up there."

Mimi sighed as she swished the water around in her glass.  
"I don't know. Probably as well as I was doing. Roger's just... he just needs to wake up and realize that not everyone's out to get him. He takes things way too personally and it's just not fair to the people who have to deal with him. I love him, I really do, but it's just pointless sometimes."

Maureen nodded. Mimi had a point. "I think I'm going to run up and see what's going on. He said he had to talk to me." Maureen thought for a moment. "Do you need anything from up there? Ya know, that you might have left."

Mimi thought for a second.  
"I think I left my AZT by the bed... and my sweater, too. Thanks Mo."  
Mimi gave her friend a warm smile. It was times like these when she really appreciated her little haphazard family.

Maureen winked at her and gave her a small smile. "No problem Mims. I'll be right back." She walked out and back up to the loft, letting herself in just in case Mark had gotten Roger to talk. The door to Mimi's and Roger's room was open, so Maureen slipped in and grabbed the stuff the Mimi had needed before creeping toward Mark's room.

* * *

Roger _didn't_ want to talk.  
Not right now with Mark at any rate.  
Most of him wanted to run to Mimi, make sure she was alright. However, that one sliver of stubbornness was holding him back.  
In any normal situation, one could ask Roger why he had done it. Now he wouldn't have been able to say.

He crossed his arms.

Every-obscene-word-Mark-could-think-of! HOW did this happen?  
"I guess it's up to you and me now," he said, trying to be optimistic. Roger wasn't much for talking to him about his love life, and it didn't seem like he would be anymore thrilled with the prospect now. However, when Mark unwillingly because a part of that love life, he had just as much a right to talk about it.

The silence was killing him. Roger didn't seem to want to talk. At all. But then what was the point in coming home then? To sit there and not say anything?  
Then Maureen came in and he could have sung the hallelujah chorus. If Roger didn't want to talk to him, fine.  
"Maureen," he said as she disappeared in Roger and Mimi's room. Mark went with her and stood by the door. "Would you...like to go for a walk or something? Nothing is getting done here and I'm getting stifled with Roger being like this."  
Please say yes! He needed to get out of the loft.

Maureen looked up at Mark's voice. "Yeah, just let me bring this stuff down to Mimi first." Maureen glanced over at Roger and sighed. There seemed to be no way that this situation was going to be resolved quickly. More than ever, she wished Collins wasn't in Santa Fe. "We can drop it off on our way downstairs."

"That sounds great," he said. "Just let me run in my room for something really quick." He ran his room and opened up one of his dresser drawers. With a sigh, he pulled out a tiny something and closed the door.  
This just hasn't been his day.  
He met up with Maureen again. "Ready?" he asked. He looked over at Roger but wasn't in the mood to talk. Maybe he would force Roger to look at the situation, but he wanted to talk to Maureen first. It just seemed that some things were much more important.

"Let's go." Maureen walked out into the hallway and headed downstairs for Mimi's.

Once Mark and Maureen left the loft, Roger allowed the wave of emotion he had been holding back spill out. Mimi was sick (again)... He and Mimi were fighting (again)... He and Mark were fighting (again)...  
With a sigh, Roger went to pick up his guitar and head to his room. As he picked it up, he saw the scar from last night. Now _there_ was a fight waiting to happen if Mark ever found out...  
Roger gave a frustrated mixture between a growl and a sigh as he slammed the door to his room.  
Why did life have to be so damn complicated?

There was a brief awkward silence and Maureen racked her brain for something to fill it. Not the situation upstairs; that would just upset Mark. "So, um, what did you need to talk to me about?" Maureen knocked on Mimi's door. Mark didn't answer.

Mimi opened the door, having dragged herself off the couch, and saw Maureen and Mark. A coy smile crept over her face.  
"I'll just take this stuff. Looks like you two could use some alone time. Thanks Mo." "No problem Mimi. I'll come by later, okay?"  
She took the stuff before quietly closing the door and letting out a small huff. Figures. Her and Roger are on thin ice while Mark and Maureen are about to win the gold metal in figure skating. She crept back over to the couch, took an AZT and just drifted off.

After Mimi had shut the door, Maureen turned back to Mark. "Let's go to the park. We can talk there." Tompkins Square Park had always been a favorite spot of Maureen's. It was always so peaceful, especially at night.

"Okay," Mark said. Truth be told, he didn't know what he was doing. Well, he knew WHAT he was doing, but he didn't know why he was doing it. But that didn't matter in the long run. All that mattered was that it got done.  
They walked down the stairs together, and Mark held open the door for Maureen. Once they were out, they headed to the park. Mark's camera was in the loft, but he didn't want to film this. He hoped against the odds that--well, he just didn't know what. He had so many different things running through his mind at once he didn't want to try to stop and focus on any one thing. It might disrupt his train of thoughts and his courage.  
They walked in silence, which was strange, until they got to the park. Mark found a bench and gestured for Maureen to sit down.  
"Um..." he said. Great way to begin, but who cares. "Maureen, I do have something important to talk to you about."

Maureen sat down next to him and looked at him, seriously.  
"Okay, Mark- you're scaring me now. What's up?"  
Maureen had noticed the absence of Mark's camera. If he had left it back at the loft, whatever he was about to talk to her about had to be big. She looked at him expectantly.

Mark looked Maureen in the eyes. She had beautiful eyes. And a great mouth...okay, overactive imagination...focus.  
"Don't interrupt me, because I'm going to need you to not do that." he said. He took a deep breath. He never saw himself doing this. Okay, that was lie. He HAD seen himself doing this, he had even prepared for it. But it seemed like it would never happen. Here goes nothing...  
"Maureen, it's no secret that I loved you. Well, I still do, that's also not a secret. Everyone seems to know that, but whatever. Um..." _KEEP GOING!_ he told himself. Alright, here it goes. "I know a lot of times I've told you that I wouldn't hurt you. That's true, I never would—don't interrupt me," he said at the first sign that Maureen was going to say something. "I would never hurt you. I'd—well, let's not get into that. Anyway, I was doing some thinking almost a year and a half ago about you. About us, actually. We were still dating then. And, well...here..." He dug the thing he'd pulled from his dresser out of his pocket. It was nothing more than a simple ring. He put it on the middle finger of her right hand to show that he knew it didn't belong on her ring finger on the left hand, which meant engagement. They were way away from that stage. A year ago, they weren't, but now...there was no hope, so better not hope in vain.  
"I never told anyone, but I was going to ask you to marry me that day you told me you were breaking up with me. Figures. But...you can keep this. I don't need it and I really don't want it anymore. Just...keep it to remember that I've always loved you and I always will in some way or another. Damn it, Maureen! This last day, just spending so much time with you..." _damn it, just wrap it up, buddy!_ "It's been wonderful." He said at last. He kissed her on the forehead.  
"I..uh...better go check up on Roger, I guess." He said standing up. "I'll catch you later."  
That was it. It's done. Now Maureen had the ring, and had his little secret. It was COMPLETELY over with her now. He refused to let himself be aggravated over the fact that he still loved her, and had indeed fallen back in love with her over the last day. But that did aggravate him. It's like seeing the one thing you want and knowing you can never have it. Oh well. C'est la vie.  
He knew she had some feelings for him still, but it was useless. A hardened heart was better than a broken one, but at the moment, if Maureen was the one breaking, he'd rather have the broken.

Maureen just sat there, staring in shock at the ring. It was beautiful. And Mark had gotten it for her. To ask her to marry him. And she broke his heart, all because she was afraid of what could happen. All because she was afraid that she would actually be happy and content, for once in her life. A million and two thoughts where all swirling around her brain at once but they all came to a screeching halt when Mark began walking away.  
"No, Mark! Wait!" She stood from the bench and ran to him. But what would she say? Everything that she could say sounded stupid in her mind. And then she knew. She knew the truth and she had to tell him.  
"Mark, please don't go...I..." Why was this so hard for her to say? "Mark, I love you."

Mark wanted to be happy and scream and yell, but it was pointless. His mind slowed down very quickly.  
"I know," he said. "I know you do." He did. Last night at the bar, the way she reacted for that split second, that look on her face. He knew she loved him. But it was pointless...wasn't it? Why was being in love so damned hard? "But I don't see much coming, you know? I mean, you're already seeing someone else. You've moved on, honey. I don't know..." He sighed. He cupped her face lightly with his hand. "May I?" he asked. He didn't really care about her answer, either. He kissed her. He shouldn't have done that, but what could he have? He loved her, she loved him; it made sense.  
"I wish with everything you can come back to me, you know? We could have a life...be together. But I'm not that naive. I know you're happy, and that's what I want for you. I want you to be happy more than--" he was going to say more than he wanted to be happy, which was true but not what she wanted to hear. "More than anything else. If you're happy, that's all that matters."  
_Just walk away..._ he thought. But he couldn't. He just stood there, looking at her.

"But you make me happy, Mark. Even when we weren't together, even when I was breaking up with you, I knew that." Maureen took deep breath. Her heart was pounding.  
"I was happy with Joanne- when we weren't fighting. But now...it's over with us. And we both know it. We both have known it for a long time. The fight we had yesterday was just the last straw." Maureen paused and looked Mark in the eyes. "Mark, I want to be with you."

What? huh? Come again? Mark was seeing stars, and he had no way to make any connections. Simple things didn't make sense. He wasn't expecting this to happen. He was expecting Maureen to say that it was cute that he loved her or yeah, I love you too, now go jump off a cliff, my lover is waiting. Not I miss you and I've always wanted to be with you. Wait, what just happened? It seems that Mark not really pursuing Maureen had lead to Maureen pursuing Mark.  
Mark wants (to be with) Maureen, Maureen wants (to be with) Mark. He's single. She's single. Why is there a problem? For some reason, those very simple facts could not be connected. They were like all the wrong pieces to all the wrong puzzles. But, somehow, they all fit.  
Instead of saying something, a host of sounds came from somewhere in Mark's throat that sounded like "Wha – ho – butdijet – howdid – ?". Mark stopped and cleared his throat and tried to form some kind of logical structure in his brain before he started talking again. This took a minute.  
"You and Joanne broke up...?" it was more of a question than a statement. There was another pause, another moment of trying to make connections in his water-logged brain.  
"Come back to me?" He said. "Be with me?" He was probably going to regret this. But who cares? Damnit! Who the hell cares! This is now! Who cares about the future? Will there even BE a future? SHIT! His brain got back to something of a working order and he kept thinking philosophy. He offered her his hand. She takes it, she's in, she doesn't, she's out. Mark found himself hoping for the former, but not knowing if he should be expecting the latter.

Maureen took his hand.  
"Mark, I know I've made a lot of mistakes, especially when it came to us. And I know how much I hurt you and that really what I deserve is for you to shoot me down now and tell me how horrible I am and to leave you alone. But I do love you and I really want to get a second chance at this."

Maureen held her breath, waiting for Mark's response. She knew that he loved her, that he always had, but was that enough to erase everything she had done to him?

Mark nodded. "Actually, Maureen, this is like, your 30th chance," Mark said. He gave her a smile to let her know he was just joking. "Honey, I'm not perfect, and neither are you." Shocker. But did she know she wasn't perfect? "And I don't expect you to be. That's one reason I love you so much."

Maureen smiled at him, "I am still trying to deal with the fact that I'm not perfect."

They started walking back toward the loft. "So...when do you move back in? When Roger stops being a prick or what?" Forget it. "Please tell me you're staying here tonight, too. I feel like I haven't had you in ever and I just want to enjoy it. Just stay with me and we'll do whatever, okay?" he said. He held open the door for her. "Lets see if we can get this figured out or...or ignore Roger and be all lovey-dovey and gross him out or something." Roger was going to freak when he found out that Mark and Maureenwere back together! Mark was secretly looking forward to that. He took her hand again once they got in the building and they started heading up.

Maureen thought about what Mark had asked, about moving back in.  
"As soon as possible, I guess. I mean, as soon as I get the rest of my stuff from my old place. Probably tomorrow. I'll take you up on staying the night though...Roger's not going to like this, huh."  
"Like I care?" Mark said. "Because he has issues with his love life that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have one. I'm a big boy, I can have you for a girlfriend if I want. He can just bitch and moan about it."  
The truth be told, Mark did value what Roger thought, but at the moment, Roger was WAY far from redeeming himself to the point where Roger's opinion about Mark and Maureen in a relationship didn't matter to him. Maybe later, when Roger got his act together. They stopped outside their door.  
"Well, this is it." He said, opening the door. "Let's see if all hell broke loose yet." He stepped inside.  
"Roger?" He called. "I don't even know if he's still here," Mark said to Maureen.

* * *

Roger heard Mark call his name.  
He stayed silent however. Roger didn't want to deal with Mark just yet. Things would only erupt again.  
Let Mark think he had gone out again. Or not.  
He didn't care what Mark thought as long as he was left alone.

* * *

Maureen knew that Mark was just angry and that once everything blew over, he would at least care about Roger's opinion. She more than once had likened Mark and Roger's relationship to that of an old married couple, minus the romantic dealings. When no one answered Mark's call, Maureen turned to him. "I guess he went back out."

"I guess so," Mark said. Then a thought hit him. He and Maureen were alone in the apartment...and they were dating again...hmm...possibilities in there.

"So..." Mark said. "You got anything you want to do? This isn't really a hell of a way to start a relationship again, but hey, it's gotta start somewhere, right?" He said. There was him, there was her (a beautiful woman). C'mon Maureen! Be smart and THINK about what he's thinking about! For once be on the same page as he his. He loved her, she loved him—  
It's nice to dream. Mark wanted to make the first move, but didn't want to at the same time.

Maureen was on the same page as Mark. Really, she was alone in the lift with the man she loved—where else would Maureen's mind go? But she decided to play coy about it. She moved closer to him and brushed her fingers across his forehead, pretending to brush away a stray hair. "Hmm...I don't know. What could we do all alone in this apartment?" Maureen was feigning innocence but she knew that Mark would recognize the tone her voice had taken. This time around, it wouldn't be her to make the first move.

Mark smiled. SCORE! Literally. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer. "Gee, I don't know...I mean, two people, alone—alone's a very key word...hmm..." he said. He started walking with her toward his room, their steps sort of duck-walking. He brought one arm forward and started un-doing the buttons on her shirt. "We could play games..." Mark suggested, leaning in and kissing her neck, feeling her heart beating. That made him smile. He was getting her hot.  
Maureen giggled as Mark hit a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. "I like games." She wrapped her arms around Mark's neck and found his mouth with her own. Their "duck waddle" had barely gotten them halfway to Mark's room. Maureen moved her head slightly and smiled seductively at Mark, "There has to be a faster way of doing this."

"...I've got time..." Mark replied, shedding his coat and kicking off his shoes. As long as his mouth had some kind of contact with her, he was fine. He got an idea. He wrapped his arms around her rear and lifted her off the ground so she could wrap her legs around him. This way, at least only one of them had to do the walking.

"Much better." She ran her hands through his hair and down the back of his neck, pushing his scarf off his shoulders. It fell onto the floor, but Maureen was too completely into the moment to care. Right then, the only thing that existed was her and Mark.

Mark smiled. "I think this is actually much better," he said. He had dreamed about this moment for over two years. Now he only knew one thing: That he loved this woman. Every fiber of his being was hers at a whim, and he wanted to prove that to her, to show it to her. He wanted to be light and easy, but it never happened. Like it ever happens. He finally made it to his room. He could feel Maureen anticipating, which only made him more excited.  
"...here..." he said, stepping in and kicking his door shut.

* * *

**A/N: That was for anyone who loves Mark and Maureen forever! And isn't off reading I Should Tell You instead.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Roger heard laughing and movement in Mark's room. He wasn't stupid. He knew what was going on in there. Some other noises happened, one of which was a solid thump against the wall. You could NOT pretend that something interesting wasn't going on in the room next door.  
He knew he shouldn't let this get to him. Mark was his best friend, and a lot of what they had said to him started to sink in. They wouldn't do that to him, would they? But Roger was never one for rational thought. He opened his door and found that, to add insult to injury, they had left their clothes everywhere. Mark's clothes and his scarf were tossed so carelessly over his guitar. He picked it up. Another laugh made his hands clench over the scarf. That bastard. That. Little. Bastard. Right in front of him?  
We'll see if this was going to stick. He went over and tried Mark's door. Mark and Mimi apparently didn't hear him. With a sudden rush of anger, Roger kicked the door.  
"SHIT!" Mark said, grabbing a blanket and throwing over himself. It wasn't Mimi that was next to him.

"Oh fuck! Roger!" Maureen grabbed from Mark's sheets, nearly falling off the bed in her haste. "What the hell!"  
"HOW COULD YOU, MARK?" Roger spat before he took in the situation. Mimi wasn't there. He looked at Maureen before he was startled and amazed. So Mark WAS a cheater! "HOW COULD YOU!" he spat again.  
If it was any other situation, Mark would have laughed. He would have. Because this was funny. But given everything...  
"Roger...do you mind?" he asked. He _was_ kind of naked at the moment. And so was Maureen.  
"Oh, I mind," Roger said. He seemed to betrying to formulate a big enough insult. He eventually turned heels and stalked out of the room. Mark looked at Maureen.  
"Well," he said. "That was definitely interesting." He slipped over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of joggers to slip on. At least now he was covered. He gave Maureen a shirt. "I really would rather you stayed naked," he said, kissing her. "But we have to deal with this right now."

Maureen kissed him back and pulled the shirt over her head. "We have plenty of time for that later." And despite the circumstances, Maureen couldn't help but think about how good it had felt to be with Mark again. Even after being so rudely interrupted.

Mark gave her a grin. "Hey, that was better than I remembered it," he said. "C'mon...lessee if we can fix what's going on," He smiled at her.  
"You're right. There IS always later." He held out his hand for her.

Maureen grinned back at him and took his hand. Time to talk to Roger. Maureen had the distinct feeling this wasn't going to go very well. They walked into the next room.

However, Roger wasn't there...  
It was then that they heard the loft door slam.  
Roger had left the building again.  
He couldn't stick around. Not with what he had just seen. His hands were tightly clenched as he made his way down the stairs and out to the street below.  
Once outside however, he stopped and looked around. Where had he planned on going? He didn't want to walk to Benny's. The thought of meeting Alison made him cringe and he was _not_ in the mood for a run in with her.  
Normally, he might have gone to Collins' place...but Collins was in Santa Fe...

Mimi heard a door slam on the floor above her and knew exactly who it was. What had happened, she didn't know, and she knew this probably wasn't the greatest idea, but this needed to be resolved sooner rather than later. Mimi pried herself from the couch and pulled her sweater around her. She inched her way to the door and once out, slowly went down the stairs. She saw Roger storm out the front door and she quickened her pace as much as she could. She made it out the door and saw Roger standing at the corner, looking around in confusion. Mimi took a deep breath before walking over to him, taking his hand in hers.  
"You okay, baby?" She knew the obvious answer but this couldn't possibly have been anything that was her fault this time. The cold breeze hit her like a whip and her tiny body began to shiver.

Roger turned as he felt someone take hold of his hand. It was Mimi! What was she doing out in the cold in her state?  
The first words out of his mouth were, "You shouldn't be out here, Mims..." as the anger he had had for her earlier seemed to dispel.

Mimi looked up at Roger, trying to hide her surprise.  
"Well neither should you," she responded, venturing out and taking his other hand. "Where're you going?"  
She tilted her head to the side and stifled a cough.

"Out," Roger said simply, his voice a bit harsher this time than he meant it to be around her. "I can't stay in the loft."

Mimi _had_ heard some yelling from above. Nothing she could really make out but she heard it nonetheless.  
"What happened up there?" she asked with a frown. She probably didn't want to even know, as it would probably further her anger with him at the moment, but she figured she'd try to put this all together anyway.

"_Mark_ is what happened up there!" Roger replied.  
He looked both ways before crossing the street, wanting to get away from the building before Mark came down. There was no doubt in Roger's mind that Mark would follow him.

Mimi looked at Roger with a frown before following after him.  
"What are you talking about?" she asked as gently as she could.

"Aw, shit." Mark said. "Maureen? Honey? Baby? You know I love you. I'll be right back." He found his coat and threw it on, slipping on his shoes on over his feet. He ran out the door as fast as he could.

The cold air was freezing! Especially since he was in hardly anything. Roger was getting the WAY wrong impression. And that needed to be fixed. Now.  
"ROGER!" Mark said. He saw them walk. "ROGER! Wait...Let me explain something!" He ran up to them. He pulled his coat tighter around him as soon as he stopped chasing after them. He could practically feel his lips turning blue.  
"Roger, that wasn't what it looked like. Well, it was." He was digging a hole, so he stopped and figured he'd be blunt about it. "Roger, listen to me. She is my girlfriend now, okay? We are dating." Mark said this through chattering teeth. He looked at Mimi, who was also slightly dressed.  
"Looks like I'm not the only one standing outside wearing nothing in December, huh?" He said, trying to be light. "You're crazy, girl. You should put some clothes on." This coming from someone in a coat and joggers, shoe's with no socks. And chattering teeth and blue lips.

Mark saw Maureen following. She hadn't been able to let him face it alone; it did take two to tango.  
"Aww...Maureen! You're going to freeze out here!" he said, voicing his concern. "Me, you and Mimi are all going to be frozen." Mark looked at the strangely undressed group. "Can we go inside and talk about this? At least it's warmer in there."

"No!" Roger spat back. He wasn't going back there. _Not_ with Mark there.  
_C'mon Roger!_ Mark thought. Don't be such a jerk! Let's just get inside. He noticed Roger had his scarf. When did he get that? He took it and wrapped it around Maureen's neck as soon as she made it over to them.

Roger walked on, anger in each quick stride.

Maureen was getting tired of Roger's attitude. Being angry was one thing, but acting like a two year old was completely different. "Jesus Christ Roger! What the fuck is your problem?" Maureen took a few angry steps after him, glaring at him.  
"First of all, nothing happened between Mark and Mimi. I think that's been quite obvious but you've been too pigheaded to actually listen to your best friend and your girlfriend over a yuppie scum who messes with you any chance he gets." Maureen knew that her little tirade could end up hurting more than helping, but her temper was speaking for itself.  
"Second, and I don't see how it is your business, but Joanne and I broke up. I am with Mark now. And no, we weren't cheating on her. It was a mutual breakup earlier today and nothing happened between Mark and I until much later. Now, we both know that neither Mark or Mimi are going to go inside until you do and it is fucking freezing out here. We're all going to get sick and I don't think Mimi can afford to get sick right now. So you can stop acting like a two year old kid who didn't get his way and come inside like a grown-up or we can all stand here in the cold glaring at each other."

Mark groaned. Inside, he was cheering her on. Thank you, Maureen, for stating the obvious.  
"Maureen," Mark said, walking up to her and gently taking her arm. He didn't know what was going to happen or anything, but he was starting to get REALLY cold. "Roger will learn where his friendships and loyalties lie on his own. Nobody can make him do anything. Let him go. If he really cared about us, he wouldn't put us through all of this. But it's not our choice." He looked up at Roger. For the first time, it wasn't anger that brought him to confront Roger, but concern for his best friend.  
"We all want you to come back, Roger. To join the family again. But we can't make you do anything. C'mon girls," he said, wrapping one arm around Maureen and directing Mimi with his other back to the building. "He'll come back when he's ready. If we keep pushing, he'll just get more pissed. He's an idiot some times, but he knows what he's doing." At least, Mark had as an after thought, I hope he does. "Mims, you can come up with us to our loft. It's probably warmer up there anyway."

But Mimi wasn't having any of it. She broke away from Mark and went back over to Roger and grabbed his hand in hers again. One thing that Maureen and Mark both seemed to be forgetting was that Mimi was just as pigheaded as Roger was sometimes and she was making a little progress before they came outside.  
"Baby, at least come back to my loft. We need to talk this out instead of just arguing about it. We don't even know where this whole thing came from. If you just _talk_ to us, or at least me, about it, we can figure everything out and bring everything back to normal. Please."  
Mimi looked up at Roger with soft, pleading eyes. Her chin was quivering as she tried to hold together her teeth so they didn't chatter. She found it to be slight inhibition on her part when she was trying to prove a point.

Mark sighed. "C'mon baby." He said to Maureen. "There's not convincing them." He held her closer to him so she wouldn't freeze. "The sooner we get inside the better before we freeze our asses off."  
He didn't want to leave Mimi and Roger standing out the cold, but at the same time, he didn't want to get sick over it. They would come back in, eventually.

Roger watched Mimi shiver as they stood there in the cold. "Mims…you shouldn't be out here if you're ill..." He loved her. He really did. He also knew she was as stubborn as he was and took off his coat with a sigh, wrapping it around her. "You should go back in..." There were some things he needed to figure out on his own first.

Mimi didn't move.  
"I'm not leaving you," she said stubbornly through her chattering teeth. "I'm afraid if I leave now I won't see you again."

"Mims..." Roger started.  
However, if anyone knew Mimi, he did.  
Giving an inward sigh he replied "Alright Mims, I'll walk you back to your loft." He didn't want to see her freezing outside because of him any longer.

Mimi crossed her arms across her chest. "Are you going to stay with me in the loft?" she asked with her usual attitude.

"Yes Mimi," he said with a sigh. "I'll stay." Most likely she'd follow after him if he didn't. "However, if Mark comes knocking, I'm not there."

Mimi smiled. She knew she'd get her way. She grabbed Roger's hand and began walking back toward their building.  
"That's fine. And we don't even have to talk. I'll stay in my room if you want; I just want to know that you're okay. I hate sitting at home without you there. It's too empty."

Roger didn't have time to answer before Mimi took his hand and they headed back for the building. "You don't have to stay in your room..." he commented as they headed up to her floor. He then gave a sigh.

Mimi smiled a bit as the two finally got back into the building. It wasn't THAT much warmer, but it was a little better, and Mimi's teeth stopped chattering.  
The two made their way up to Mimi's loft in silence before she shoved open the door and turned around to face Roger, raising her eyebrows a little bit.  
"So now what?" she asked. She didn't want to tread into any water she wasn't supposed to be in, so she figured she'd let Roger call the shots.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

"I'm sorry, Maureen." Mark blurted out suddenly, as the two of them walked back towards their building. "I didn't mean to drag you into the middle of all of this."

Maureen leaned closer to him, her arm going around his waist. "It's okay. There was really no preventing it." She let her head fall on his shoulder as they walked back towards the loft. "Now what?"

"We get out of this God forsaken weather and warm up." Mark said. "Wrap up under 34 blankets and sit there until we feel our extremities." Besides, the idea of being under 34 blankets with Maureen was a fun time. "What do you say? We'll make coffee and it'll be great. And then Mimi will (hopefully) talk Roger into coming back up and then—well, we'll deal with that when we get there."

Maureen smiled playfully at him. "Well, when you throw coffee into the deal..."  
They had reached the building and headed up the stairs. Maureen couldn't help but notice the loft was maybe ten degrees warmer than the air was outside. "Why don't you get the blankets and I'll make the coffee."

"That sounds good," Mark said, dashing into his room and grabbing three blankets (one of which was the one that was kicked off the bed earlier). He actually paused a moment to let it seriously sink in that he was dating Maureen again. He threw on a sweater (a maroon-and-baby-blue one his mother had made for him) and a pair of socks. He also grabbed another sweater and socks for Maureen.

Maureen poured the coffee into two mugs before turning off the ancient coffee pot. They were going to have to find money to go grocery shopping soon, the cupboards and half-broken refrigerator were more empty than usual. That's when it really hit Maureen.  
She was moving back into the loft. She was moving back into the loft with Mark, her boyfriend. Mark was her boyfriend. The familiar wave of panic began to fill her mind, but Maureen quickly pushed it down. She loved Mark and he loved her. He would never hurt her and she knew that.  
As if conjured by her thoughts, Mark appeared in the room again. She walked up to him, a coffee cup in each hand, and kissed him.  
"I have an idea. Why don't you set up the projector? We can watch some of your old footage."

Mark was a little taken aback by the sudden kiss, but had welcomed it all the same. He was REALLY taken aback by her suggestion.  
"Uh...sure, if you want to," he said. He pulled the sweater over her head, careful not to spill the coffee. "I've got a bunch of us," He lead her back into the living room and wrapped her up in a blanket before going over and looking through reels. Nope, that one wasn't it. No, that wasn't it either...no...Aha! He found it. They were stashed way at the bottom, but here they were.  
He set it up and, after a few groans and wheezes, the ancient projector came to life. He stuck in the first reel and sat down next to Maureen, who looked really adorable all wrapped up in a blanket. At least Mark thought so.  
This was old footage of them somewhere around the one year mark. It was summer time, and Maureen was laughing about something, though with no sound it was almost impossible to remember the joke. The shot turned and face Mark, who, holding the camera, filmed himself kissing Maureen. Mark then disappeared from view while making sure to get close-up's of "Maureen's performance," just a little something she did just for him.

"Mark!" Maureen laughed. Anyone else might have been embarrassed, but not Maureen Johnson.  
"I was thinking something a little less private. Like Collins' birthday party or the day we moved April into the loft."  
She looked more closely at the film and a small pout formed on her face. "Besides, you know I hate the way I look when I tap dance. You are the only person to see me do it since I was eight."

"You just said movies!" Mark defended. He smiled anyway. "Alright, alright, alright, I'll change it." He was just teasing her, but he figured it would be a good way to remind her just how much he loved her. He got up and changed the reel.

**A/N: Short today, sorry.**

**And this will be the last one for awhile. The next installment is kind of not finished yet. So please add us to your story alert list and wait for chapter 10.**

**And no, elphabafabalaelphiefae, we did not write this 'cause of your review. You're just psychic.**


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